Grammicin, a polyketide metabolite produced by the endolichenic fungus Xylaria grammica KCTC 13121BP, shows strong nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita. This study was performed to elucidate the grammicin biosynthesis pathway of X. gram...
The intracellular calcium content in fungal cells is influenced by a large number of environmental and nutritional factors. Sharp changes in the cytosolic calcium level act as signals that are decoded by the cell gene expression machinery, resulting...
The trichothecene biosynthesis in Fusarium begins with the cyclization of farnesyl pyrophosphate to trichodiene, followed by subsequent oxygenation to isotrichotriol. This initial bicyclic intermediate is further cyclized to isotrichodermol (ITDmol),...
Bacteria, filamentous fungi, and plants synthesize thousands of secondary metabolites with important biological and pharmacological activities. The biosynthesis of these metabolites is performed by networks of complex enzymes such as non-ribosomal pe...
Anabaenopeptins are common metabolites of cyanobacteria. In the course of reisolation of the known aeruginosins KT608A and KT608B for bioassay studies, we noticed the presence of some unknown anabaenopeptins in the extract of a Microcystis cell mass...
(1) Background: Plants possess many acyl-acyl carrier protein (acyl-ACP) thioesterases (TEs) with unique specificity. One such TE is methylketone synthase 2 (MKS2), an enzyme with a single-hotdog-fold structure found in several tomato species that hy...
In the biosynthesis of aflatoxin, verA, ver-1, ordB, and hypA genes of the aflatoxin gene cluster are involved in the pathway from versicolorin A (VA) to demethylsterigmatocystin (DMST). We herein isolated each disruptant of these four genes to deter...
Camptothecin (CPT) has strong antitumor activity and is used as an anticancer therapeutic agent. To better understand and decipher the pathway of CPT biosynthesis in Camptotheca acuminata, the main purpose here was focused on creating an effective ex...
As one of the model medicinal plants for exploration of biochemical pathways and molecular biological questions on complex metabolic pathways, Catharanthus roseus synthesizes more than 100 terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs) used for clinical treatment...
The liver, a pivotal organ in human metabolism, serves as a primary site for heme biosynthesis, alongside bone marrow. Maintaining precise control over heme production is paramount in healthy livers to meet high metabolic demands while averting poten...
Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common malignancy in men. Common characteristic involved in PC pathogenesis are disturbed lipid metabolism and abnormal cholesterol accumulation. Cholesterol can be further utilized for membrane or hormone synthesis w...
A capillary electrophoresis coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (CE–MS/MS) has been used to make a qualitative determination of hercynine—the main precursor of l-ergothioneine biosynthesis—in some key human biological specimens, such as urine, whole...
Porphyrias are a group of diseases that are clinically and genetically heterogeneous and originate mostly from inherited dysfunctions of specific enzymes involved in heme biosynthesis. Such dysfunctions result in the excessive production and excretio...
Orotic acid (OA) is an intermediate metabolite of pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis and represents a minor diet constituent. The measurement of urinary orotic acid is useful in confirming the diagnosis of hereditary metabolic diseases. Moreover, it...
The biosynthesis of plumbagin is known to occur via the acetate polymalonate pathway; however there are several intermediary steps that remain unidentified that leads to its synthesis. The study identifies enzyme naphthoate synthase to catalyze the c...
The compound 15-deacetylcalonectrin (15-deCAL) is a common pathway intermediate in the biosynthesis of Fusarium trichothecenes. This tricyclic intermediate is metabolized to calonectrin (CAL) by trichothecene 15-O-acetyltransferase encoded by Tri3. U...
Flavonoids are an important class of secondary metabolites widely found in plants, contributing to plant growth and development and having prominent applications in food and medicine. The biosynthesis of flavonoids has long been the focus of intense...
β-alanine is widely used as an intermediate in industrial production. However, the low production of microbial cell factories limits its further application. Here, to improve the biosynthesis production of β-alanine in Escherichia coli, multivariate...
The metabolic pathway of 3-alkyl-2-methoxypyrazines (MPs) in grape remains largely unclear except for the final step. In this study, the 2,5-dicarbonyl-3-isobutyl-piperazine (DCIP), which is proposed as the key intermediate of 3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyr...
Dithiolopyrrolone antibiotics are well known for their outstanding biological activities, and their biosynthesis has been studied vigorously. However, the biosynthesis mechanism of the characteristic bicyclic scaffold is still unknown after years of...
The biosynthesis of antibiotics and other secondary metabolites (also named special metabolites) is regulated by multiple regulatory networks and cascades that act by binding transcriptional factors to the promoter regions of different biosynthetic g...
Ophiobolins are a group of sesterterpenoids with a 5-8-5 tricyclic skeleton. They exhibit a significant cytotoxicity and present potential medicinal prospects. However, the biosynthesis and transport mechanisms of these valuable compounds have not be...
Coenzyme Q (ubiquinone or CoQ) is a conserved polyprenylated lipid essential for mitochondrial respiration. CoQ is composed of a redox-active benzoquinone ring and a long polyisoprenyl tail that serves as a membrane anchor. A classic pathway leading...
Strigolactones (SLs) are carotenoid-derived plant hormones involved in the development of various plants. SLs also stimulate seed germination of the root parasitic plants, Striga spp. and Orobanche spp., which reduce crop yield. Therefore, regulating...
The plant steroid hormone brassinosteroids (BRs) are important signal mediators that regulate broad aspects of plant growth and development. With the discovery of brassinoazole (Brz), the first specific inhibitor of BR biosynthesis, several triazole-...
Chloropupukeananin is a natural product that inhibits HIV-1 replication and has antitumor activity. Its structure consists of a chlorinated tricyclo[4.3.1.03,7]decane core skeleton with an array of highly oxidized multifunctional groups. In the biosy...
Heme, an iron-containing tetrapyrrole, is essential in almost all organisms. Heme biosynthesis needs to be precisely regulated particularly given the potential cytotoxicity of protoporphyrin IX, the intermediate preceding heme formation. Here, we rep...
The plant hormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) is one of the main signals playing a role in the communication between host and endophytes. Endophytes can synthesize IAA de novo to influence the IAA homeostasis in plants. Although much is known about IA...
The identification of unstable metabolites of ellagitannins having ortho-quinone structures or reactive carbonyl groups is important to clarify the biosynthesis and degradation of ellagitannins. Our previous studies on the degradation of vescalagin,...
Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are essential protein cofactors. In enzymes, they are present either in the rhombic [2Fe-2S] or the cubic [4Fe-4S] form, where they are involved in catalysis and electron transfer and in the biosynthesis of metal-containin...
Natural products represent an important reservoir for GPCR ligand discovery. In this study, we established an integrated workflow combining virtual screening, biophysical validation, functional signaling assays, and transcriptomic profiling to identi...
Ganoderic acid (GA) is an important secondary metabolite of Ganoderma lucidum with a diverse array of pharmacological properties. In this study, we found that exogenous ethylene increased the production of endogenous ethylene and ganoderic acid in G....
Scytonemin is a promising UV-screen and antioxidant small molecule with commercial value in cosmetics and medicine. It is solely biosynthesized in some cyanobacteria. Recently, its biosynthesis mechanism has been elucidated in the model cyanobacteriu...
Chattonella marina is an ichthyotoxic, bloom-forming raphidophyte known for its hemolytic activity. However, the mechanisms by which nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) limitation influence this hemolytic toxicity remain poorly understood. In this study,...
Ganoderic acid (GA) is a key bioactive component with pharmacological properties that is found in Ganoderma lingzhi, a renowned medicinal mushroom. Currently, the regulatory mechanisms underlying GA biosynthesis in G. lingzhi remain to be further elu...
Auxins are a class of plant hormones playing crucial roles in a plant’s growth, development, and stress responses. Phenylacetic acid (PAA) is a phenylalanine-derived natural auxin found widely in plants. Although the auxin activity of PAA in pl...
In search of new antimycotic agents acting as ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors we investigated widely new and optimized reaction pathways for preparing different types of triazasteroids [1, 2]. The various mono-, bi-, tri- and tetracyclic triazaste...
A correlation has been established between production of specific phenylphenalenones and resistance of various banana and plantain varieties towards certain pathogens. In addition a dihydrotrihydroxyphenylphenalene was isolated from the resistant 'Pe...
With the goal of obtaining a novel bioactive compound with significant antifungal activity, a series of 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives (3a–3l) were synthesized and characterized. Due to thione-thiol tautomerism in the intermediate compound 2, ty...
Xanthones are a class of secondary metabolites produced by plant organisms. They are characterized by a wide structural variety and numerous biological activities that make them valuable metabolites for use in the pharmaceutical field. This review sh...
Diffusely infiltrating gliomas are characterized by a variable clinical course, and thus novel prognostic biomarkers are needed. The heme biosynthesis cycle constitutes a fundamental metabolic pathway and might play a crucial role in glioma biology....
Being essential intermediates for the biosynthesis of heme, chlorophyll, and several other biologically critical compounds, porphyrins have wide practical applications. However, up till now, their bio-based production remains challenging. In this stu...
Previous research has shown that propolis has immunomodulatory activity. Extracts from two UK propolis samples were assessed for their anti-inflammatory activities by investigating their ability to alter the production of the cytokines: tumour necros...
Sinomenium acutum is the main raw material for sinomenine. Empirical evidence indicates a marked disparity in sinomenine content among S. acutum plants with different genders, resulting in varying medicinal potential of the processing products. Howev...
During gliotoxin biosynthesis in fungi, the cytochrome P450 GliF enzyme catalyzes an unusual C–N ring-closure step while also an aromatic ring is hydroxylated in the same reaction cycle, which may have relevance to drug synthesis reactions in b...
Certain species of Mucorales have been identified as causative agents of mucormycosis, a rare yet often lethal fungal infection. Notably, these fungi exhibit intrinsic resistance to common azole drugs, which target lipids. Given the pivotal role of l...
Most tumor cells can use glutamine (Gln) for energy generation and biosynthetic purposes. Glutaminases (GAs) convert Gln into glutamate and ammonium. In humans, GAs are encoded by two genes: GLS and GLS2. In glioblastoma, GLS is commonly overexpresse...
The root of Saposhnikovia divaricata (Fangfeng) is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for headache and neuroinflammation-related disease treatment. The mRNA expression of IL-6 and IL-1β were significantly inhibited after Fangfeng ext...
The green biosynthesis of adipic acid, an important monomer of nylon 6,6, has become a research hotspot. α-Aminoadipate is a key intermediate in the metabolic pathway that converts L-lysine to produce adipic acid. In addition, metabolic flux an...
Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) is a nucleotide that is most recognized for its role as an intermediate of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) biosynthesis. Although the biosynthetic pathway of NMN varies between eukaryote and prokaryote, two...
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