Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 5, 2026

Mass Spectrometry-Guided Genome Mining as a Tool to Uncover Novel Natural Products
Published on: March 12, 2020
Genomics-enabled discovery of phosphonate natural products and their biosynthetic pathways
Kou-San Ju1, James R Doroghazi, William W Metcalf
1Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, 61801, USA.
Abstract:
Phosphonate natural products have proven to be a rich source of useful pharmaceutical, agricultural, and biotechnology products, whereas study of their biosynthetic pathways has revealed numerous intriguing enzymes that catalyze unprecedented biochemistry. Here we review the history of phosphonate natural product discovery, highlighting technological advances that have played a key role in the recent advances in their discovery. Central to these developments has been the application of genomics, which allowed discovery and development of a global phosphonate metabolic framework to guide research efforts. This framework suggests that the future of phosphonate natural products remains bright, with many new compounds and pathways yet to be discovered.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Biosynthesis of Nucleic Acids
Pharmacogenomics: Identification of New Drug Targets
Amino Acid Biosynthetic Pathways
Phosphorylation
During phosphorylation, protein kinases transfer the terminal phosphate group of ATP to specific amino acid side chains of substrate proteins. Serine, threonine, and tyrosine are the most commonly...
Protein Kinases and Phosphatases
Protein kinases
Many proteins in the cell are regulated by phosphorylation, the addition of a phosphate group. A family of enzymes called kinases...
The Phosphorus Cycle

