Derbyshire Lab May Help Identify the Metabolite(s) Being Made by Parasites

Characterization of Unexpected Self-Acylation Activity of Acyl Carrier Proteins in a Modular Type I Apicomplexan Polyketide Synthase

How do parasites make natural products? A new study by the Derbyshire lab resolved a polyketide synthase present in Toxoplasma gondii and observed an unexpected self-acylation activity with acyl carrier proteins within this system. Their findings suggest a potential regulatory mechanism and may help identify the metabolite(s) being made by the parasite in future studies. You can read more about their work in a recent ACS Chemical Biology issue, available here.