Publications by authors named "Takayoshi Saruwatari"
Pseurotins comprise a family of structurally related Aspergillal natural products having interesting bioactivity. However, little is known about the biosynthetic steps involved in the formation of their complex chemical features. Systematic deletion of the pseurotin biosynthetic genes in A.
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- Dimeric natural products, like (−)-ditryptophenaline from Aspergillus flavus, show promise for biological activities, such as inhibiting pain and inflammation by targeting the substance P receptor.
- By using gene knockout techniques and yeast gene expression, researchers identified the gene cluster responsible for the biosynthesis of this specific dimeric compound for the first time.
- The cytochrome P450 enzyme DtpC plays a crucial role in both forming a key ring structure and facilitating the dimerization process, with the ability to create new compounds from different precursors, suggesting a radical-mediated dimerization mechanism.
Fungal polyketide synthases (PKSs) catalyze a carbon-carbon bond forming reaction in an iterative manner using a variety of acyl-CoA molecules as substrates when biosynthesizing complex polyketides. Although most members from this class of natural products exhibit notable biological activities, often they are naturally produced in trace levels or cultivation of the analyte-producing organism is less than feasible. Appropriately, to contend with the former challenge, one must identify any translational bottleneck and perform functional analysis of the associated enzymes.
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