Mining and unearthing hidden biosynthetic potential.
Kirstin ScherlachChristian HertweckPublished in: Nature communications (2021)
Genetically encoded small molecules (secondary metabolites) play eminent roles in ecological interactions, as pathogenicity factors and as drug leads. Yet, these chemical mediators often evade detection, and the discovery of novel entities is hampered by low production and high rediscovery rates. These limitations may be addressed by genome mining for biosynthetic gene clusters, thereby unveiling cryptic metabolic potential. The development of sophisticated data mining methods and genetic and analytical tools has enabled the discovery of an impressive array of previously overlooked natural products. This review shows the newest developments in the field, highlighting compound discovery from unconventional sources and microbiomes.
Keyphrases
- small molecule
- high throughput
- genome wide
- human health
- copy number
- ms ms
- electronic health record
- climate change
- risk assessment
- high resolution
- dna methylation
- drinking water
- big data
- emergency department
- gene expression
- machine learning
- real time pcr
- adverse drug
- mass spectrometry
- data analysis
- drug induced
- artificial intelligence
- genome wide identification