Chemical Discovery in the Microbial World

Microbes have amazing chemical capabilities, performing chemical reactions unprecedented in organic synthesis and producing complex, biologically active molecules not easily accessed via any other means. My lab is discovering new enzymatic transformations by studying the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites with atypical structures or chemical functionality. This talk will discuss our recent progress deciphering the enzymatic chemistry that mediates unusual C-C and C-N bond forming reactions in cylindrocyclophane and diazofluorene biosynthesis. Functional and mechanistic characterization of biosynthetic enzymes from these pathways is revealing new chemical reactivity with potential applications in biocatalysis and metabolic engineering.