From biosynthesis to bioremediation, microbes have been engineered to address a variety
of biotechnological applications. A promising direction in these endeavors is harnessing the …

Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) represent a large class of plant secondary metabolites,
including pharmaceuticals such as morphine, codeine and their derivatives. Large-scale …

Two previously undetected enzymes involved in morphine biosynthesis and unique among
plants to opium poppy have been identified as non-heme dioxygenases, in contrast to the …

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an important platform organism for synthesis of chemicals and
fuels. However, the promoters used in most pathway engineering studies in S. cerevisiae …

Halogenation, which was once considered a rare occurrence in nature, has now been
observed in many natural product biosynthetic pathways. However, only a small fraction of …

For nearly eight millennia, opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) has been bred and cultivated
for therapeutic purposes. The medicinal properties of the plant are conferred by specialized …

Plant natural products (NPs) not only serve many functions in an organism's survivability but
also demonstrate important pharmacological activities. Isolation of NPs from native sources …

Plants produce a high diversity of natural products or secondary metabolites which are
important for the communication of plants with other organisms. A prominent function is the …

Cytochrome P450s are widespread in nature and play key roles in the diversification and
functional modification of plant natural products. Over the last few years, there has been …

Secondary (specialized) metabolites, produced by bacteria, fungi, plants, and other
organisms, exhibit enormous structural variation, and consequently display a wide range of …