Ribosomally synthesised natural products: a new name for a new year

A large collection of leading researchers in the field of natural product synthesis have come together to propose a communal nomenclature system for the biosynthesis of ribosomally synthesised and posttranslationally modified peptides (RiPPs).

The number of ribosomally synthesised natural products is rapidly increasing, and currently there is no uniform nomenclature being applied across the different compound classes. The classifications currently being used are starting to break down with the increasing number of available genome sequences; the nomenclature used in the various communities investigating subgroups of natural products of ribosomal origin can be confusing, and in some cases even contradictory.

Following on from several discussion groups, the authors of this review (who are working on different classes of RiPPs) present recommendations for a common nomenclature that encompasses all classes, and hope that such a nomenclature will be supported by the rest of the community with the classification of new classes.

In addition to this nomenclature recommendation the authors also present an overview of the current knowledge of the structures and biosynthesis of more than twenty distinct compound classes with examples from bacteria, plants and fungi.

Read this highly informative review today and help sculpt and direct the future of RiPP research.

Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide natural products: overview and recommendations for a universal nomenclature
DOI: 10.1039/C2NP20085F

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