title: Recent advances in the elucidation of enzymatic function in natural product biosynthesis.
abstract: With the successful production of artemisinic acid in yeast, the promising potential of synthetic biology for natural product biosynthesis is now being realized. The recent total biosynthesis of opioids in microbes is considered to be another landmark in this field. The importance and significance of enzymes in natural product biosynthetic pathways have been re-emphasized by these advancements. Therefore, the characterization and elucidation of enzymatic function in natural product biosynthesis are undoubtedly fundamental for the development of new drugs and the heterologous biosynthesis of active natural products. Here, discoveries regarding enzymatic function in natural product biosynthesis over the past year are briefly reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery (Wuhan University), Ministry of Education, and Wuhan University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Gao-Yi
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery (Wuhan University), Ministry of Education, and Wuhan University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan, China; Hubei Engineering Laboratory for Synthetic Microbiology, Wuhan Institute of Biotechnology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Zixin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery (Wuhan University), Ministry of Education, and Wuhan University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan, China; Hubei Engineering Laboratory for Synthetic Microbiology, Wuhan Institute of Biotechnology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Tiangang
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
keywords: combinatorial biosynthesis; natural product biosynthesis; plant-derived drugs