Natural products articles from across Nature Portfolio

The incorporation of nitrogen in steroidal glycoalkaloids is hypothesized to occur through a transamination reaction. Here, the authors show that GLYCOALKALOID METABOLISM12 appears to evolve from the canonical γ-aminobutyric acid transaminases and directs the biosynthesis of nitrogen-containing steroidal metabolites in Solanum plants.

Venomous animals typically disrupt nervous, locomotor, and cardiovascular systems to incapacitate prey, but certain fish-hunting cone snails evolved toxins that specifically target glucose homeostasis. Here, the authors show the combinatorial nature of weaponized insulin and somatostatin mimetics, exemplifying the use of combinatorial chemical mimicry for prey capture.

Working as an oenologist brings to life an important aspect of my country’s cultural identity.

Natural products and synthetic bifunctional molecules enable the development of new chemical probes that target oxysterol-binding protein (OSBP), a key player in intracellular cholesterol homeostasis and Golgi complex integrity and a potential target for metabolic disease and cancer.

BURP-domain proteins belong to an emerging class of autocatalytic copper-containing proteins that modify themselves after synthesis. Now, a report explains how their structure and metal coordination sphere control the installation of crosslinks within the core peptide, and shows how nature leverages mechanistic paradigms to create diversity.

An integrative approach has now enabled elucidation of the complete biosynthetic pathway of a prominent saponin adjuvant. Reconstruction of the whole biosynthetic pathway in a heterologous host provides new perspectives for the biotechnological supply of this immunostimulant.

Nature has evolved elegant enzymatic strategies to cyclize peptides, resulting in complex macrocyclic compounds with potent biological activities. A study illustrates the diverse chemical versatility of one such remarkable enzyme family, the cytochrome P450 macrocyclases, which form new biaryl crosslinks in ribosomal peptidic natural products.