The ability of marine macro- and micro-organisms to assemble complex biosynthetic machineries for the production of a huge variety of peptide/polyketide molecules has raised the interest of the scientific community due to their intriguing skeletons combined with remarkable biological properties.
Polyketides are a class of metabolites composed of simple C2–C4 building blocks (acetyl, propionyl, or butyryl), assembled from their respective activated forms malonyl-CoA, methylmalonyl-CoA, and ethylmalonyl-CoA through the polyketide-synthase (PKS) pathway.
Peptides can be either ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified (RIPPs) or assembled through mega-synthetases referred to as non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS) in an RNA-independent synthetic pathway.
In addition, on account of the modular nature of both NRPSs and non-iterative type-I PKSs, NRPS modules can easily work together with PKS modules, giving rise to complex biosynthetic routes producing polyketide-peptide hybrid compounds.
Many medicinal drugs can be traced back to these classes of marine natural products. Therefore, in the context of the incessant outbreak of resistance mechanisms to conventional drugs, there is an urgent need to elucidate novel chemical structures: marine organisms can be regarded as precious sources of lead compounds for drug discovery.
The aim of the present Research Topic is to collect scientific articles and reviews, highlighting the chemical diversity, the biosynthesis, and the pharmacological potential of marine-derived polyketides and peptides, as well as of hybrid compounds.
Authors are welcome to contribute with Original Research and Review articles focusing on the organic and medicinal chemistry aspect of marine polyketide/peptide research as well as their target-oriented discovery and biosynthesis.
The ability of marine macro- and micro-organisms to assemble complex biosynthetic machineries for the production of a huge variety of peptide/polyketide molecules has raised the interest of the scientific community due to their intriguing skeletons combined with remarkable biological properties.
Polyketides are a class of metabolites composed of simple C2–C4 building blocks (acetyl, propionyl, or butyryl), assembled from their respective activated forms malonyl-CoA, methylmalonyl-CoA, and ethylmalonyl-CoA through the polyketide-synthase (PKS) pathway.
Peptides can be either ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified (RIPPs) or assembled through mega-synthetases referred to as non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS) in an RNA-independent synthetic pathway.
In addition, on account of the modular nature of both NRPSs and non-iterative type-I PKSs, NRPS modules can easily work together with PKS modules, giving rise to complex biosynthetic routes producing polyketide-peptide hybrid compounds.
Many medicinal drugs can be traced back to these classes of marine natural products. Therefore, in the context of the incessant outbreak of resistance mechanisms to conventional drugs, there is an urgent need to elucidate novel chemical structures: marine organisms can be regarded as precious sources of lead compounds for drug discovery.
The aim of the present Research Topic is to collect scientific articles and reviews, highlighting the chemical diversity, the biosynthesis, and the pharmacological potential of marine-derived polyketides and peptides, as well as of hybrid compounds.
Authors are welcome to contribute with Original Research and Review articles focusing on the organic and medicinal chemistry aspect of marine polyketide/peptide research as well as their target-oriented discovery and biosynthesis.
