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Alkaloid biosynthesis

Assembling neuroactive alkaloids

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The Lycopodium alkaloids represent a valuable source of neuroactive compounds. The biosynthesis of these specialized metabolites is now shown to involve three α-carbonic anhydrase-like enzymes that are responsible for constructing the key carbon–carbon bonds within their distinctive polycyclic alkaloid structures.

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Fig. 1: Proposed biosynthetic pathway of Lycopodium alkaloids.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Collaborative Research Institute for Innovative Microbiology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Richiro Ushimaru & Ikuro Abe

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  1. Richiro Ushimaru
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  2. Ikuro Abe
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Correspondence to Richiro Ushimaru or Ikuro Abe.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Ushimaru, R., Abe, I. Assembling neuroactive alkaloids. Nat. Plants 9, 1946–1947 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01586-8

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