Natural products have been a rich source of compounds for drug discovery. However, their use has diminished in the past two decades, in part because of technical barriers to screening natural products in high-throughput assays against molecular targets. Here, we review strategies for natural product screening that harness the recent technical advances that have reduced these barriers. We also assess the use of genomic and metabolomic approaches to augment traditional methods of studying natural products, and highlight recent examples of natural products in antimicrobial drug discovery and as inhibitors of protein-protein interactions. The growing appreciation of functional assays and phenotypic screens may further contribute to a revival of interest in natural products for drug discovery.

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The re-emergence of natural products for drug discovery in the genomics era

6.4. Polyynes 3123 6.5. Using R-Hydroxy Stannanes 3124 6.6. Using the Hurtley Reaction 3124 6.7. Using a Methylenation Reaction 3125 7. Conclusions and Future Prospects 3125 8. Uncommon Abbreviations 3125 9. Acknowledgments 3125 10. Note Added in Proof 3125 11. References 3126 * Authorstowhomcorrespondenceshouldbeaddressed(evano@chimie.uvsq.fr, nicolas.blanchard@uha.fr). † Université de Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines. ‡ Université de Haute-Alsace. Chem. Rev. 2008, 108, 3054–3131 3054

Copper-mediated coupling reactions and their applications in natural products and designed biomolecules synthesis.

Summary
The diets of over two-thirds of the world's population lack one or more essential mineral elements. This can be remedied through dietary diversification, mineral supplementation, food fortification, or increasing the concentrations and/or bioavailability of mineral elements in produce (biofortification). This article reviews aspects of soil science, plant physiology and genetics underpinning crop biofortification strategies, as well as agronomic and genetic approaches currently taken to biofortify food crops with the mineral elements most commonly lacking in human diets: iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iodine (I) and selenium (Se). Two complementary approaches have been successfully adopted to increase the concentrations of bioavailable mineral elements in food crops. First, agronomic approaches optimizing the application of mineral fertilizers and/or improving the solubilization and mobilization of mineral elements in the soil have been implemented. Secondly, crops have been developed with: increased abilities to acquire mineral elements and accumulate them in edible tissues; increased concentrations of ‘promoter’ substances, such as ascorbate, β-carotene and cysteine-rich polypeptides which stimulate the absorption of essential mineral elements by the gut; and reduced concentrations of ‘antinutrients’, such as oxalate, polyphenolics or phytate, which interfere with their absorption. These approaches are addressing mineral malnutrition in humans globally.

/pdf/biofortification-of-crops-with-seven-mineral-elements-often-3g2xc3trnk.pdf

Biofortification of crops with seven mineral elements often lacking in human diets--iron, zinc, copper, calcium, magnesium, selenium and iodine.

The asymmetric intramolecular Heck reaction in natural product total synthesis.

https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(13)00288-2.pdf

Lessons from the cancer genome.

The removal of intervening sequences from transcripts is catalyzed by the spliceosome, a multicomponent complex that assembles on the newly synthesized pre-mRNA. Pre-mRNA translation in the cytoplasm leads to the generation of aberrant proteins that are potentially harmful. Therefore, tight control to prevent undesired pre-mRNA export from the nucleus and its subsequent translation is an essential requirement for reliable gene expression. Here, we show that the natural product FR901464 (1) and its methylated derivative, spliceostatin A (2), inhibit in vitro splicing and promote pre-mRNA accumulation by binding to SF3b, a subcomplex of the U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein in the spliceosome. Importantly, treatment of cells with these compounds resulted in leakage of pre-mRNA to the cytoplasm, where it was translated. Knockdown of SF3b by small interfering RNA induced phenotypes similar to those seen with spliceostatin A treatment. Thus, the inhibition of pre-mRNA splicing during early steps involving SF3b allows unspliced mRNA leakage and translation.

Spliceostatin A targets SF3b and inhibits both splicing and nuclear retention of pre-mRNA.

ZmYS1 functions as a proton-coupled symporter for phytosiderophore- and nicotianamine-chelated metals.

Reactions of silyl enol ethers and lactone enolates with dimethyl(methylene)ammonium iodide. The bis-.alpha.-methylenation of pre-vernolepin and pre-vernomenin

Takeshi Kitahara

Papers

Spliceostatin A targets SF3b and inhibits both splicing and nuclear retention of pre-mRNA.

ZmYS1 functions as a proton-coupled symporter for phytosiderophore- and nicotianamine-chelated metals.

Reactions of silyl enol ethers and lactone enolates with dimethyl(methylene)ammonium iodide. The bis-.alpha.-methylenation of pre-vernolepin and pre-vernomenin

The total synthesis of dl-vernolepin and dl-vernomenin

Comparisons of various biological activities of stereoisomers of methyl jasmonate