Eunicellane diterpenoids are bioactive compounds with a typical 6,10-bicycle, and their scaffolds exhibit innate structural flexibility, but the mechanistic basis for controlling flexibility was unknown. Here, the authors report a genome mining-based discovery of a terpene synthase, MicA, that synthesizes a nearly non-flexible eunicellane skeleton, and propose that configurations of bridging carbons and their adjacent double bond govern flexibility in eunicellane structures.
- Jinfeng Li
- Bao Chen
- Baofu Xu