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Updated: Sep 3, 2026

Mass Spectrometry-Guided Genome Mining as a Tool to Uncover Novel Natural Products
Published on: March 12, 2020
Genome Mining Reveals Widespread Catalytic Modes and Chemical Diversity of Bacterial UbiA-Type Terpene Synthases
Wan Xin Chen1, Zhe Li1, Yi Ling Hu1
1State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute of Functional Biomolecules, Department of Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing210023, China.
Abstract:
Bacterial UbiA prenyltransferases, known for their primary metabolism, are revealed as versatile terpene synthases (TSs) through genome mining. These enzymes operate in two modes: autonomous cyclization to produce structurally diverse terpenes, including unprecedented diterpenes and the first bacterial UbiA-derived sesquiterpenes; and cooperation with type II TSs to replace canonical type I enzymes. Downstream tailoring further diversifies UbiA-derived scaffolds. This work provides a genomic framework for the terpenoid discovery.
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