@misc{canty_chang_2023, title={Current understanding of lignan biosynthesis}, ISSN={["1551-7012"]}, DOI={10.24820/ark.5550190.p012.006}, abstractNote={Lignans constitute a large and diverse class of molecules widely distributed throughout the plant kingdom. They exhibit a wide range of pharmaceutically relevant biological activities and have attracted widespread research interests. This review covers the current understanding of lignan biosynthesis and aims to highlight key biosynthetic transformations responsible for their structural and biological diversity}, journal={ARKIVOC}, author={Canty, Nicholas Koenig and Chang, Wei-chen}, year={2023} }
 @article{kim_chen_cha_zhou_xing_canty_zhang_chang_2022, title={Elucidation of divergent desaturation pathways in the formation of vinyl isonitrile and isocyanoacrylate}, volume={13}, ISSN={["2041-1723"]}, DOI={10.1038/s41467-022-32870-4}, abstractNote={AbstractTwo different types of desaturations are employed by iron- and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent (Fe/2OG) enzymes to construct vinyl isonitrile and isocyanoacrylate moieties found in isonitrile-containing natural products. A substrate-bound protein structure reveals a plausible strategy to affect desaturation and hints at substrate promiscuity of these enzymes. Analogs are synthesized and used as mechanistic probes to validate structural observations. Instead of proceeding through hydroxylated intermediate as previously proposed, a plausible carbocation species is utilized to trigger C=C bond installation. These Fe/2OG enzymes can also accommodate analogs with opposite chirality and different functional groups including isonitrile-(D)-tyrosine,N-formyl tyrosine, and phloretic acid, while maintaining the reaction selectivity.}, number={1}, journal={NATURE COMMUNICATIONS}, author={Kim, Wantae and Chen, Tzu-Yu and Cha, Lide and Zhou, Grace and Xing, Kristi and Canty, Nicholas Koenig and Zhang, Yan and Chang, Wei-Chen}, year={2022}, month={Sep} }