Biosynthetic rules for marcrolide construction

Abstract

Macrolides constitute a large class of natural metabolites produced by giant multifunctional enzymes in a process resembling fatty acid biosynthesis. Like f atty acids, macrolides and other polyketides are assernbled by decarboxylative condensations of simple carboxylic acids. But while fatty acid intermediates are fully reduced, macrolide and other polyketide intermediates suffer the suppression of reduction or dehydration reactions at given biosynthetic steps. In the last years much progress has 'been made in our understanding of the linear and modular organisation of the gene clusters, and the enzymes encoded by them, responsiblefor...