Bioorthogonal chemistry represents a class of high-yielding chemical reactions that proceed
rapidly and selectively in biological environments without side reactions towards …

All organisms produce specialized organic molecules, ranging from small volatile chemicals
to large gene-encoded peptides, that have evolved to provide them with diverse cellular and …

Glycans are involved in numerous biological recognition events. Being secondary gene
products, their labeling by genetic methods–comparable to GFP labeling of proteins–is not …

Over 20 years ago, the pyrrolysine encoding translation system was discovered in specific
archaea. Our Review provides an overview of how the once obscure pyrrolysyl-tRNA …

The function of cells in their native habitat often cannot be reliably predicted from genomic
data or from physiology studies of isolates. Traditional experimental approaches to study the …

Living systems contain a vast network of metabolic reactions, providing a wealth of enzymes
and cells as potential biocatalysts for chemical processes. The properties of protein and cell …

The nitrogen–nitrogen bond is a core feature of diverse functional groups like hydrazines,
nitrosamines, diazos, and pyrazoles. Such functional groups are found in> 300 known …

Metal-binding natural products contribute to metal acquisition and bacterial virulence, but
their roles in metal stress response are underexplored. We show that a five-enzyme pathway …

The enzymatic generation of carbon–halogen bonds is a powerful strategy used by both
nature and synthetic chemists to tune the bioactivity, bioavailability and reactivity of …

Natural nonproteinogenic amino acids vastly outnumber the well-known 22 proteinogenic
amino acids. Such amino acids are generated in specialized metabolic pathways. In these …