Bacterial terpene biosynthesis: challenges and opportunities for pathway engineering.

ABSTRACT: Terpenoids are the largest and structurally most diverse class of natural products. They possess potent and specific biological activity in multiple assays and against diseases, including cancer and malaria as notable examples. Although the number of characterized terpenoid molecules is huge, our knowledge of how they are biosynthesized is limited, particularly when compared to the well-studied thiotemplate assembly lines. Bacteria have only recently been recognized as having the genetic potential to biosynthesize a large number of complex terpenoids, but our current ability to associate genetic potential with molecular structure is severely restricted. The canonical terpene biosynthetic pathway uses a single enzyme to form a cyclized hydrocarbon backbone followed by modifications with a s

SUBMITTER: Helfrich EJN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6902898 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature