“Exploring the Bacterial Terpenome”

Abstract:

Terpenoids, well-known natural products with applications in pharmaceuticals, flavors, fragrances, and biofuels, are the largest and most structurally diverse family of natural products. Although the genomes of bacteria clearly encode a variety of terpene biosynthetic enzymes, less than 2% (~1500) of all known terpenoids are of bacterial origin. By genome mining for novel terpenoids from bacteria, we have discovered novel terpene skeletons, new terpenoids, and mechanistically and structurally characterized a series of terpene synthases and modification enzymes. This presentation will highlight our recent work on the eunicellane family of diterpenoids and our exploration of the chemical space of terpene skeletons in bacteria.