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Nat. Prod. Rep., 2008, 25, 845 - 853, DOI: 10.1039/b807243d

Isoprenoid-like alkylations in polyketide biosynthesis

Christopher T. Calderone

Polyketides are secondary metabolites biosynthesized by the iterative Claisen condensation of malonate units. Despite utilizing only a small set of biochemical transformations, the polyketide biosynthetic machinery yields products of striking structural complexity and diversity. Recently, a new polyketide alkylation pathway was characterized that allows access to -branched structures. This Highlight will describe this alkylation sequence, with special emphasis on its parallels to isoprenoid biosynthesis from primary metabolism and the scope of structures accessible via this pathway.

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