ORGN 3 |
| The C7N aminocyclitol family of natural products, represented by the anti-diabetic drugs acarbose, voglibose (semi-synthetic), trestatin, and the antifungal antibiotic validamycin, has grown to be one of the more clinically successful groups of microbial secondary metabolites. Their excellent biological activities and their relatively mild side effects toward humans, animals, and plants have been especially important from a pharmaceutical point of view and have been one of the most significant factors in their outstanding success. Traditionally the C7N aminocyclitol family of natural products has been known as a group of pseudoaminooligosaccharides with potent sugar hydrolase inhibitory activities. More recent discoveries indicate a broader scope to the structural diversity and biological activities of this class of natural products. Among these are the pyralomycins, antibiotics isolated from the soil bacterium Nonomuraea spiralis and the cetoniacytones, anti-tumor agents isolated from an endosymbiotic Actinomyces sp. living in the intestines of a rose chafer (Cetonia aureate). Despite their intriguing structures and biological activities, little is known about their biosynthesis. Our group has been studying the biosynthesis of this class of secondary metabolites and recently has identified a number of biosynthetic gene clusters of this class of compounds, which provide significant insights about their formation in nature. In silico investigation results also suggest a wider distribution of this class of natural products across different classes of microorganisms. |
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Ernest Guenther Award in the Chemistry of Natural Products
8:00 AM-12:00 PM, Sunday, 26 March 2006 Georgia World Congress Center -- Georgia Ballroom 2, Oral
Division of Organic Chemistry |