In a new paper in JACS by recent graduate Edward Kalkreuter (now a postdoc at Scripps, Florida), the synthetic scope of a polyketide synthase was expanded by engineering the incorporation of consecutive extender unit substrates. Unexpected downstream bottlenecks were also revealed, identifying new targets for enzyme engineering.

Nature makes isoprenoids via two lengthy routes that are difficult to engineer. In a new publication in ACS Synthetic Biology, Sean Lund and Rachael Hall describe using synthetic biology to develop a third route that is just 2-enzymes long, easy to engineer, and is highly versatile.