Micklefield Jason
School of Chemistry, University of Manchester, Sackville Street, PO Box 88, Manchester, M60 1QD, UK.
Chem Biol. 2005 Jun;12(6):611-3. doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2005.06.002.
(2S)-4-amino-2-hydroxybutyrate (AHBA) is a side chain that is important for the antibiotic activities of aminoglycosides. The elucidation of the biosynthetic pathway to AHBA, by Spencer et al. in this issue of Chemistry & Biology [1], reveals several surprises and will facilitate biosynthetic engineering of new improved aminoglycoside antibiotics.