In Vitro Reconstitution of Metabolic Pathways: Insights into Nature's Chemical Logic

• Published in: Synlett Vol. 26; no. 8; p. 1008
• Main Authors: Lowry, Brian, Walsh, Christopher T, Khosla, Chaitan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany 01.01.2015
• Subjects: Enzymes; Natural Products; Antifungal Agents; Antiviral Agents; Biosynthesis; Antibiotics
• ISSN: 0936-5214
• DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1380264

analysis of metabolic pathways is becoming a powerful method to gain a deeper understanding of Nature's core biochemical transformations. With astounding advancements in biotechnology, purification of a metabolic pathway's constitutive enzymatic components is becoming a tractable problem, and such studies allow scientists to capture the finer details of enzymatic reaction mechanisms, kinetics, and the identity of organic product molecules. In this review, we present eleven metabolic pathways that have been the subject of reconstitution studies in the literature in recent years. In addition, we have selected and analyzed subset of four case studies within these eleven examples that exemplify remarkable organic chemistry occurring within biology. These examples serves as tangible reminders that Nature's biochemical routes obey the fundamental principles of organic chemistry, and the chemical mechanisms are reminiscent of those featured in traditional synthetic organic routes. The illustrations of biosynthetic chemistry depicted in this review may inspire the development of biomimetic chemistries via abiotic chemical techniques.