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Updated: Jul 3, 2026

A Customizable Approach for the Enzymatic Production and Purification of Diterpenoid Natural Products
Published on: October 4, 2019
The impact of enzyme engineering upon natural product glycodiversification
Gavin J Williams1, Richard W Gantt, Jon S Thorson
1Laboratory for Biosynthetic Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, National Cooperative Drug Discovery Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 777 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53705, USA.
Abstract:
Glycodiversification of natural products is an effective strategy for small molecule drug development. Recently, improved methods for chemo-enzymatic synthesis of glycosyl donors has spurred the characterization of natural product glycosyltransferases (GTs), revealing that the substrate specificity of many naturally occurring GTs as too stringent for use in glycodiversification. Protein engineering of natural product GTs has emerged as an attractive approach to overcome this limitation. This review highlights recent progress in the engineering/evolution of enzymes relevant to natural product glycodiversification with a particular focus upon GTs.
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