{"title":"Hot off the Press","authors":"Robert A. Hill , Andrew Sutherland","doi":"10.1039/d6np90001a","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6np90001a","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A personal selection of 32 recent papers is presented covering various aspects of current developments in bioorganic chemistry and novel natural products such as candindole A from <em>Aspergillus candidus</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":94,"journal":{"name":"Natural Product Reports","volume":"43 2","pages":"Pages 281-285"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146148564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Biyan Chen , Emre F. Bülbül , SeoungGun Bang , Hannah A. Minas , Kenan A. J. Bozhüyük
{"title":"Toward a unified pipeline for natural product discovery: tools and strategies for NRPS and PKS pathway exploration and engineering","authors":"Biyan Chen , Emre F. Bülbül , SeoungGun Bang , Hannah A. Minas , Kenan A. J. Bozhüyük","doi":"10.1039/d5np00041f","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d5np00041f","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Covering: up to 2025.</div></div><div><div>Non-ribosomal peptide synthetases and polyketide synthases are modular biosynthetic systems that produce structurally diverse and pharmacologically potent natural products, including antibiotics, immunosuppressants, and anticancer agents. Their programmable architecture has long inspired efforts in biosynthetic re-engineering. This review highlights recent advances that are transforming non-ribosomal peptide synthetase and polyketide synthase systems into versatile platforms for rational design. We discuss progress in genome mining, high-throughput screening, and dereplication, alongside emerging tools from synthetic biology and computational modeling. Particular focus is given to structure-based approaches—such as homology modeling, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations—as well as deep learning strategies for enzyme prediction and design. Rather than replacing classical techniques, these computational methods now complement and extend them, enabling accelerating the discovery and assembly of tailor-made natural product analogs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":94,"journal":{"name":"Natural Product Reports","volume":"43 2","pages":"Pages 352-370"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144726136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eray U. Bozkurt , Emil C. Ørsted , Daniel C. Volke , Pablo I. Nikel
{"title":"Accelerating enzyme discovery and engineering with high-throughput screening","authors":"Eray U. Bozkurt , Emil C. Ørsted , Daniel C. Volke , Pablo I. Nikel","doi":"10.1039/d4np00031e","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d4np00031e","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Covering: up to August 2024</div></div><div><div>Enzymes play an essential role in synthesizing value-added chemicals with high specificity and selectivity. Since enzymes utilize substrates derived from renewable resources, biocatalysis offers a pathway to an efficient bioeconomy with reduced environmental footprint. However, enzymes have evolved over millions of years to meet the needs of their host organisms, which often do not align with industrial requirements. As a result, enzymes frequently need to be tailored for specific industrial applications. Combining enzyme engineering with high-throughput screening has emerged as a key approach for developing novel biocatalysts, but several challenges are yet to be addressed. In this review, we explore emergent strategies and methods for isolating, creating, and characterizing enzymes optimized for bioproduction. We discuss fundamental approaches to discovering and generating enzyme variants and identifying those best suited for specific applications. Additionally, we cover techniques for creating libraries using automated systems and highlight innovative high-throughput screening methods that have been successfully employed to develop novel biocatalysts for natural product synthesis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":94,"journal":{"name":"Natural Product Reports","volume":"43 2","pages":"Pages 313-334"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142453666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Streptomyces as a versatile host platform for heterologous production of microbial natural products","authors":"Constanze Lasch , Maksym Myronovskyi , Andriy Luzhetskyy","doi":"10.1039/d5np00036j","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d5np00036j","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Focus on 2004 to 2024</div></div><div><div>The rediscovery of natural products (NPs) as a critical source of new therapeutics has been greatly advanced by the development of heterologous expression platforms for biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). Among these, <em>Streptomyces</em> species have emerged as the most widely used and versatile chassis for expressing complex BGCs from diverse microbial origins. In this review, we provide a comprehensive analysis of over 450 peer-reviewed studies published between 2004 and 2024 that describe the heterologous expression of BGCs in <em>Streptomyces</em> hosts. We present a data-driven overview of expression trends across time, BGC types, donor species, and host strain preferences, offering the first quantitative perspective on how this field has evolved over two decades. Our review discusses the key factors influencing successful BGC expression in <em>Streptomyces</em>, including genomic integration strategies, regulatory elements, codon optimization, and precursor supply. We also examine the impact of synthetic biology tools, genome engineering, and host strain tailoring in overcoming common expression barriers. Special emphasis is placed on the role of heterologous expression in accessing silent or cryptic BGCs, elucidating biosynthetic pathways, and generating new-to-nature analogues through combinatorial biosynthesis. By integrating technological advances with practical case studies, we highlight how <em>Streptomyces</em>-based heterologous expression is enabling not only the efficient production of known compounds but also the discovery of structurally novel and biologically potent metabolites. This review aims to serve as a resource for researchers in natural products, synthetic biology, and drug discovery who seek to harness the full potential of microbial biosynthetic diversity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":94,"journal":{"name":"Natural Product Reports","volume":"43 2","pages":"Pages 371-390"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145022460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hendrik Luesch, Emma K. Ellis, Qi-Yin Chen and Ranjala Ratnayake
{"title":"Correction: Progress in the discovery and development of anticancer agents from marine cyanobacteria","authors":"Hendrik Luesch, Emma K. Ellis, Qi-Yin Chen and Ranjala Ratnayake","doi":"10.1039/D6NP90002J","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D6NP90002J","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Correction for ‘Progress in the discovery and development of anticancer agents from marine cyanobacteria’ by Hendrik Luesch <em>et al.</em>, <em>Nat. Prod. Rep.</em>, 2025, <strong>42</strong>, 208–256, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NP00019F.</p>","PeriodicalId":94,"journal":{"name":"Natural Product Reports","volume":" 2","pages":" 391-392"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12885152/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146140375","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The development of Burkholderia bacteria as heterologous hosts†","authors":"Stephanie C. Heard , Alessandra S. Eustáquio","doi":"10.1039/d5np00024f","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d5np00024f","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Covering up to 2024</div></div><div><div>Drug resistance is a serious and growing problem, and new small molecules are needed for a wide variety of clinical and agricultural applications. Natural products, encoded by biosynthetic gene clusters, have consistently been a source of chemical diversity for finely tuned interactions with a range of molecular targets of interest. However, many gene clusters are not transcriptionally active, making heterologous expression in a different host strain a useful tool to access bioactive small molecules. <em>Burkholderia</em> spp. bacteria hold promise as heterologous hosts because of their intrinsic natural product capabilities. In this review, we summarize natural products successfully isolated from <em>Burkholderia</em> spp. heterologous hosts up until 2024. We then compare the hosts that have been tested and discuss ongoing development efforts to improve access to new natural products in titers sufficient for drug development and industrial applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":94,"journal":{"name":"Natural Product Reports","volume":"43 2","pages":"Pages 335-351"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144726135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Microbial natural products activated by plant stress","authors":"Barbara I. Adaikpoh","doi":"10.1039/D5NP00062A","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5NP00062A","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Covering: 2000 to August 2025</p><p>The search for new antimicrobial natural products from microorganisms has been limited by the transcriptional silencing of biosynthetic genes when microbes are cultivated outside their ecological environments. Nevertheless, applying knowledge of the ecological roles, for example, microbial defense against plant pathogens, can improve drug discovery efforts. Interactions between plants and their microbiota, during adaptation to pathogen stress, provide ecological cues that induce microenvironments suppressive to pathogens. This article highlights research linking pathogen-induced plant stress signals to the activation of microbial natural product biosynthesis, emphasizing the need for further studies on how plant metabolites can influence biosynthesis in plant-associated microbes.</p>","PeriodicalId":94,"journal":{"name":"Natural Product Reports","volume":" 4","pages":" 590-596"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/np/d5np00062a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146103122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chenxu Liu, Mengqi Tong, Kouharu Otsuki, Wei Li, Feng Feng and Jie Zhang
{"title":"Structure, bioactivity, biosynthesis, and synthesis of corynanthe alkaloids","authors":"Chenxu Liu, Mengqi Tong, Kouharu Otsuki, Wei Li, Feng Feng and Jie Zhang","doi":"10.1039/D5NP00051C","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5NP00051C","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Covering: 2006–2025</p><p>Corynanthe alkaloids constitute the largest class of monoterpene indole alkaloids and feature a secologanin-derived carbon skeleton fused to an indole or indole-derived heterocycle. To date, thousands of structurally diverse members have been identified, exhibiting activities ranging from anti-inflammatory and antihypertensive to neuroprotective effects. Growing insight into ajmaline biosynthesis and recent advances in the synthetic construction of corynantheine-type scaffolds have renewed interest in this family. However, contemporary reviews largely emphasize structural diversity and biological function, while offering limited systematic coverage of biosynthetic logic or total-synthesis strategies. The present review compiles corynanthe alkaloids reported between 2006 and 2025 and summarizes their natural sources. It also provides an integrated overview of recent progress in both biosynthetic elucidation and chemical synthesis of simple corynanthe alkaloids and yohimbine alkaloids, alongside a concise survey of their biological activities. Collectively, this review aims to stimulate new perspectives on the discovery and synthetic innovation of corynanthe alkaloids, providing a valuable resource for researchers in natural-product chemistry and drug development.</p>","PeriodicalId":94,"journal":{"name":"Natural Product Reports","volume":" 4","pages":" 746-778"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/np/d5np00051c?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146049585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fangfang Duan, Jiaying Lai, Linjie Wei, Siran Li, Polina Lopukhina, Zihuan Sang, Chen Chen, Xiaoyi Wei, Hongxin Liu and Haibo Tan
{"title":"Microbe-derived aromatic polyketides toward MRSA infection: current advances and perspectives","authors":"Fangfang Duan, Jiaying Lai, Linjie Wei, Siran Li, Polina Lopukhina, Zihuan Sang, Chen Chen, Xiaoyi Wei, Hongxin Liu and Haibo Tan","doi":"10.1039/D5NP00061K","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5NP00061K","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Covering: 2005 to July 2025</p><p>Methicillin-resistant <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> (MRSA), emerging as one of the most common multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial strains, has posed a serious threat to global healthcare over the past few decades due to its high rates of morbidity and mortality. Aromatic polyketides, renowned for their intricate structures and diverse biological activities, are a remarkable bioresource for developing new antimicrobial agents. This review systematically classifies all natural aromatic polyketides (from 2005 to 2025) with anti-MRSA activity (MICs < 10 µg mL<small><sup>−1</sup></small>) from microbial sources, and summarizes their structure–activity relationships, additional bioactivities, and reported antibacterial mechanisms. Meanwhile, the clinical utilization status, limitations, and ongoing challenges associated with existing anti-MRSA aromatic polyketide antibiotics were assessed, alongside valuable perspectives on the potential advancement of aromatic polyketide derivatives. Additionally, the review provides further insights into drug innovation and future trends in medicinal research regarding the rational development of anti-MRSA aromatic polyketide drugs, offering a valuable reference for future research and pharmaceutical development.</p>","PeriodicalId":94,"journal":{"name":"Natural Product Reports","volume":" 4","pages":" 718-745"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146027704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abdul Bari Shah, Young Jun Kim, Kyeong Seon Lee, Sang Hoon Han, Youngjoo Byun and Ki Yong Lee
{"title":"Natural products modulating interleukin-mediated pathways for anti-allergic and immunomodulatory effects","authors":"Abdul Bari Shah, Young Jun Kim, Kyeong Seon Lee, Sang Hoon Han, Youngjoo Byun and Ki Yong Lee","doi":"10.1039/D5NP00074B","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5NP00074B","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Covering: upto 2025</p><p>The increasing prevalence of allergic diseases and immunological disorders is a significant public health issue requiring the development of novel therapeutic approaches. Interleukins are prime therapeutic targets because they are crucial for immune control and allergic aetiology. Naturally occurring bioactive compounds show tremendous promise for altering interleukin signalling, providing therapeutic advantages with potentially fewer adverse effects than those of synthesised drugs. This review highlights key bioactive substances that influence interleukin pathways, including flavonoids, polyphenols, terpenoids, alkaloids, and plant extracts. These compounds exhibit multiple mechanisms of action, including enhanced anti-inflammatory responses and reduced production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Controlling several interleukin-mediated pathways, including IL-6 and IL-17, IL-1β and IL-10, as well as IL-4 and IL-13, has shown promise, thus showing substantial anti-allergic properties. These compounds exert modulatory effects by reducing Th2-mediated allergic reactions. This review examined their binding affinities to important interleukins to support the therapeutic potential of these bioactive metabolites. Although the results are encouraging, some issues remain, including variations in compound bioavailability, formulation issues, and insufficient clinical validation. This review addresses these challenges and highlights the potential use of bioactive compounds in innovative approaches aimed at interleukin-mediated pathways in immunological control and allergies.</p>","PeriodicalId":94,"journal":{"name":"Natural Product Reports","volume":" 4","pages":" 685-717"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/np/d5np00074b?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146016675","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}