Enzyme's black box cracked open

摘要

Polyketide synthase enzymes make compounds from molecules that synthetic chemists can't easily control. The basis of the enzymes' ability to use such unstable precursors has been laid bare.rnPolyketides form a structurally diverse - and often medicinally useful - family of compounds derived from bacteria, fungi and plants. These compounds include the antibiotic erythromycin, the anticancer agent epothilone and the cholesterol-lowering drug lovastatin. But it's not all good news. Some polyketides are dangerous, such as aflatoxin B, which causes liver cancer in humans. The biological activities of polyketides are prescribed by their molecular shapes and sizes.