Work

Natural Products Version 2.0: Connecting Genes to Molecules

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: Natural products have played a prominent role in the history of organic chemistry, and they continue to be important as drugs, biological probes, and targets of study for synthetic and analytical chemists. In this Perspective, we explore how connecting Nature's small molecules to the genes that encode them has sparked a renaissance in natural product research, focusing primarily on the biosynthesis of polyketides and non-ribosomal peptides. We survey monomer biogenesis, coupling chemistries from templated and non-templated pathways, and the broad set of tailoring reactions and hybrid pathways that give rise to the diverse scaffolds and functionalization patterns of natural products. We conclude by considering two questions: What would it take to find all natural product scaffolds? What kind of scientists will be studying natural products in the future?

Source: Journal of the American Chemical Society

DOI: 10.1021/ja909118a

Authors: Christopher T. Walsh, Michael A. Fischbach

Institutions: QB3, Harvard University, University of California, San Francisco

Language: English

Topic: Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis

Subfield: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Field: Immunology and Microbiology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases