Omics-based natural product discovery and the lexicon of genome mining

Genome sequencing and the application of omic techniques are driving many important advances in the field of microbial natural products research. Despite these gains, there remain aspects of the natural product discovery pipeline where our knowledge remains poor. These include the extent to which biosynthetic gene clusters are transcriptionally active in native microbes, the temporal dynamics of transcription, translation, and natural product assembly, as well as the relationships between small molecule production and detection. Here we touch on a number of these concepts in the context of continuing efforts to unlock the natural product potential revealed in genome sequence data and discuss nomenclatural issues that warrant consideration as the field moves forward.