Year: 2022

LACK OF EUKARYOTIC LOGIC. "One of the striking differences between this arrangement in prokaryotes and that found in eukaryotes is that typically, not only are the genes of metabolic pathways in eukaryotes not organized in clusters, but they are often located on different chromosomes. Thus, unlike the metabolic genes of prokaryotes, those of eukaryotes are not organized spatially." https://lnkd.in/dEpJBda View in LinkedIn

POLYKETIDE SYNTHESASES. "Single giant proteins with multiple catalytic domains, repeated in modules, oligomerize and transform small units to build up complex natural products. These varied enzymatic properties ensure overall catalytic plasticity in the world of natural products." https://lnkd.in/dEpJBda View in LinkedIn

MOBILE GENETIC ELEMENTS. "What of the many natural products that arise through a mixing of biosynthetic pathways? The data are scant but what is available is suggestive of yet a higher state of organization -- a super-cluster brought about through the action of moveable genetic elements, transposons." https://lnkd.in/dEpJBda View in LinkedIn

SUPERCLUSTER MIXERS. "Preliminary data suggests that one organizational mechanism makes use of transposons to duplicate or move DNA segments (that code for protein domains) into existing biosynthetic genes. This mechanism could move new genes into existing natural product gene clusters or could move an entire gene cluster of one natural product class...close to that of another class, such that the expression of the "supercluster" becomes coupled and gives rise to a hybrid-type natural product." https://lnkd.in/dEpJBda View in LinkedIn

CIRCUIT TRANSISTORS. "The molecular circuits of life that recognize or give rise to natural products are highly complex and interconnected with the circuits that are responsive to developmental and environmental controls. Natural products often function as "transistors" to switch on or switch off these circuits." https://lnkd.in/dEpJBda View in LinkedIn

GENE RECRUITMENT. "Another recurring theme that appears common is the recruitment of (or the seeding by) genes originally involved in primary metabolism for the natural product biosynthesis gene clusters." https://lnkd.in/dEpJBda View in LinkedIn

BEYOND THE CLUSTER. "The clustering of natural products biosynthetic pathway genes is an obvious organizational feature. However, on closer examination, many of those clusters and their gene products appear to have further pathway connections that lie outside the cluster but nevertheless are coordinatedly linked in the biosynthesis process." https://lnkd.in/dEpJBda View in LinkedIn

ACCIDENTS OR ARCHETYPES? "Is the evolution of metabolism subject to general principles, beyond the unpredictable accumulation of multiple historical accidents? Here we ask whether, beneath the intricate wiring of these networks, it is possible to discern signatures of optimal (i.e., shortest and maximally efficient) pathway architectures." https://lnkd.in/dUHqnYU View in LinkedIn

INPUTS AND OUTPUTS. "Metabolism is the network of biochemical reactions that transforms available resources (“inputs”) into energy currency and building blocks (“outputs”). Different organisms have different assortments of metabolic pathways and input/output requirements, reflecting their adaptation to specific environments, and to specific strategies for reproduction and survival." https://lnkd.in/dUHqnYU View in LinkedIn

SELECTION AND METABOLIC WIRING. "Especially during major transitions, such as the early stages of life's appearance or the rise of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere, selective forces must have shaped the metabolic wiring itself. Comparative genomics can provide top-down insight into some long-term evolution of metabolic pathways." https://lnkd.in/dUHqnYU View in LinkedIn