Branching and converging pathways in fungal natural product biosynthesis
Xingxing Wei, Wei‐Guang Wang, Yudai Matsuda
Abstract
In nature, organic molecules with great structural diversity and complexity are synthesized by utilizing a relatively small number of starting materials. A synthetic strategy adopted by nature is pathway branching, in which a common biosynthetic intermediate is transformed into different end products. A natural product can also be synthesized by the fusion of two or more precursors generated from separate metabolic pathways. This review article summarizes several representative branching and converging pathways in fungal natural product biosynthesis to illuminate how fungi are capable of synthesizing a diverse array of natural products.
Topics & Concepts
Branching (polymer chemistry)Natural productBiosynthesisProduct (mathematics)ChemistryBiologyComputational biologyBiochemistryMathematicsOrganic chemistryEnzymeGeometryMicrobial Natural Products and BiosynthesisFungal Biology and ApplicationsPlant biochemistry and biosynthesis