(9g) Biosynthesis of Unusual Functionalities in Natural Products

Natural products are important small molecules for studying, treating, and even causing human diseases, and they typically have unique functional groups that are critical for their biological activities. By exploiting the biosynthetic machinery by which these functionalities are synthesized, it is possible to enhance, vary or diminish the biological activities of parent compounds and apply the biosynthetic machinery to new systems for functional group installation. Toward this goal, the chemical logic and enzymatic machinery underlying natural product biosynthesis need to be fully characterized and understood. This talk will focus on our recent efforts in functional characterization and mechanistic interrogation of enzymes responsible for biosynthesis of unusual pharmacophores of natural products, such as isonitrile and N-hydroxytriazene.