Battersby A R
University Chemical Laboratory, Cambridge, UK.
Science. 1994 Jun 10;264(5165):1551-7. doi: 10.1126/science.8202709.
In part because humans cannot synthesize vitamin B12 and must obtain it from organisms that produce it and because B12 deficiency leads to pernicious anemia, it has been important to understand how microorganisms build this quite complex substance. As shown here, an interdisciplinary attack was needed, which combined the strengths of genetics, molecular biology, enzymology, chemistry, and spectroscopy. This allowed the step-by-step synthetic pathway of B12 to be elucidated, and this approach has acted as a model for future research on the synthesis of substances in living organisms. One practical outcome of such an approach has been the improved availability of B12 for animal feedstuffs and human health.
部分原因在于人类无法合成维生素B12，必须从产生它的生物体中获取，而且维生素B12缺乏会导致恶性贫血，因此了解微生物如何构建这种相当复杂的物质一直很重要。如下所示，需要进行跨学科研究，综合遗传学、分子生物学、酶学、化学和光谱学的优势。这使得维生素B12的逐步合成途径得以阐明，这种方法已成为未来研究生物体中物质合成的典范。这种方法的一个实际成果是提高了动物饲料和人类健康领域维生素B12的可得性。
