Shen group identifies new chorismate metabolic pathway

A group led by Ben Shen, professor in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, and colleagues at the School of Pharmacy were highlighted in the January 14, 2008 edition of Chemical & Engineering News in a news brief titled “New Chorismate Metabolic Pathway.”

The Shen group “identified a seventh branching point in chorismate metabolism and determined that a product of this pathway is a major component of the enediyne antitumor antibiotic C-1027, one of the most cytotoxic natural products known.” The full paper explaining the findings was published in the January 15, 2008 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.