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Professor Ikuro ABE

Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
The University of Tokyo
7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku,
Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Tel: +81-3-5841-4740
Fax: +81-3-5841-4744


DEGREES
1984 B.S., The University of Tokyo, Japan
1986 M.S., The University of Tokyo, Japan
1989 Ph.D., The University of Tokyo, Japan


RESEARCH & PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

1989

Boursier du Gouvernement Francais and Boursier Maxwell de l'Academie des Sciences, Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturells (C.N.R.S), and Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Mulhouse (Professors Guy Ourisson and Michel Rohmer)

1991

Research Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Stony Brook (Professor Glenn D. Prestwich)

1996 Research Assistant Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, The University of Utah (Professor Glenn D. Prestwich)
1998 Assistant Professor, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka
2008 Associate Professor, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka
2009 Professor, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo
(- present)
2014 Visiting Professor, The University of British Columbia, Canada
2014 Guest Professor, Jinan University, China
2016 Project Leader, Grant-in-Aid for Reserach on Innovative Areas, Creation of Complex Functional Molecules by Rational Redesign of Biosynthetic Machineries (- 2021)
2018 Guest Professor, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, China
2018 Honored Professor, Zhejiang University of Technology, China
2019 Guest Professor, Zhejiang University, China
2019 Special-term Professor, South-Central University for Nationalities, China
2020 Project Leader, Japanese Master Plan of Large Research Projects 2020, Research Network for Innovative Studies of Crude Drugs and Medicinal Plants
2024 Adjunct Professor, Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia



AWARDS

2002

The Japanese Society of Pharmacognosy, The JSP Award for Young Scientists

2007 The Japanese Society of Pharmacognosy, The JSP Award for Scientific Contributions
2008 The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan Award for Divisional Scientific Promotions
2013 Fellow of The Royal Society of Chemistry
2015 FAOBMB Osamu Hayaishi Lecture Award
2017 The Japanese Society of Pharmacognosy, The JSP Award
2017 Sumiki Umezawa Memorial Award
2019 The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan Award
2019 Awards for Science and Technology (Research Category), The Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
2023 The Society for Actinomycetes Japan, Omura Award


ACTIVITIES

President: The Japanese Society of Pharmacognosy(2018-2019)

President: The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, Division of Natural Medicines(2015-2017)

Fellow of The Royal Society of Chemistry(2013-)

Faculty Member: Faculty Opinions (Faculty of 1000)(2011-)

Most Outstanding Referees for Angewandte Chemie
(Among the top 1% in 2021, top 5% in 2016, 2018, top 10% in 2022)

Editorial Board Member: Natural Product Reports(2012-2017)

Editorial Board Member: Journal of Biological Chemistry(2019-2024)

Section Editor: Comprehensive Natural Products IIII(2017-2020)

Section Editor: Current Opinion in Chemical Biology(2024)

Editorial Board Member: Frontiers in Plant Science(2010-2017)

Editorial Board Member: Natural Products and Bioprospecting(2013-)

Editorial Board Member: Journal of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences(2014-)

Editorial Board Member: Engineering Microbiology(2021-)

Editorial Board Member: mLife(2021-)

Editorial Board Member: Acta Materia Medica(2021-)

Guest Editor: Org. Biomol. Chem. "Biosynthesis" (2018)

Guest Editor: J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol. "Natural Products"(2018, 2020)

Guest Editor: Marine Drugs "Marine Fungal Metabolites"(2021)

Executive Committee Member: TERPNET (2017-)

Member: The Isoprenoid Society (2024-)

Co-Organizer: PACIFICHEM, Biosynthesis of Natural Products(2005, 2010, 2015)

Committee Member: SIMB, Natural Products(2018, 2020, 2023)

Committee Member: European Conference on Natural Products(2018, 2021, 2024)

Co-Organizer: US-Japan Seminar, Biosynthesis of Natural Products(2017)

Organizer: China-Japan Seminar, Biosynthesis of Natural Products(2017, 2019)

Organizer: Geremany-Japan Seminar, Biosynthesis of Natural Products(2018)

Advisory Member: Phytochemical Society of Asia (2015-)

Member: American Chemical Society(1996-)

Member: American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology(1998-)

Member: American Society of Pharmacognosy(2014-)



SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
For a full publication list, please see Google Scholar

TBA
Mori, T., Moriwaki, Y., Sakurada, K., Lyu, S., Kadlcik, S., Janata, J., Mazumdar, A., Koberska, M.,Terada, T., Kamenik, Z., Abe, I.
Nature Chemistry, 16, in press (2024) Link | Open Access | Press Release

Modifications of prenyl side chains in natural product biosynthesis
Wang, H., Yang, Y., Abe, I.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 63, e202415279 (2024) Link | Open Access

The structural basis of pyridoxal-5′-phosphate-dependent β-NAD-alkylating enzymes
Awakawa, T., Mori, T., Barra, L., Ahmed, Y., Ushimaru, R., Gao, Y., Adachi, N., Senda, T., Terada, T., Tantillo, D. J., Abe, I.
Nature Catalysis, 7, 1099-1108 (2024) Link | Open Access | Press Release

Recent advances in the biosynthetic studies of bacterial organoarsenic natural products
Hoshino, S., Onaka, H., Abe, I.
Nat. Prod. Rep., 41, in press (2024) Link

Functional and structural dissection of glycosyltransferases underlying the glycodiversity of wolfberry-derived bioactive ingredients lycibarbarspermidines
Li, S.-Y., Wang, G.-Q., Long, L., Gao, J.-L., Zhou, Z.-Q., Wang, Y.-H., Lv, J.-M., Chen, G.-D., Hu, D., Abe, I., Gao, H.
Nature Commun., 15, Article number: 4588 (2024) Link | Open Access

Biosynthesis of enfumafungin-type antibiotic reveals an unusual enzymatic fusion pattern and unprecedented C-C bond cleavage
Cao, Z.-Q., Wang, G.-Q., Luo, R., Gao, Y.-H., Lv, J.-M., Qin, S.-Y., Chen, G.-D., Awakawa, T., Bao, X.-F., Mei, Q.-H., Yao, X.-S., Hu, D., Abe, I., Gao, H.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 146, 12723–12733 (2024) Link

Discovery of (±)-penindolenes reveals an unusual indole ring cleavage pathway catalyzed by P450 monooxygenase
Meng, L.-H.,Awakawa, T., Li, X.-M., Quan, Z., Yang, S.-Q., Wang, B.-G., Abe, I.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 63, e202403963 (2024) Link | Open Access

Mechanistic analysis of the stereodivergent nitroalkane cyclopropanation catalyzed by nonheme iron enzymes
Ushimaru, R., Cha, L., Shimo, S., Li, X., Paris, J., Mori, T., Miyamoto. K., Coffer, L., Uchiyama, M., Guo, Y., Chang, W-c., Abe, I.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 145, 24210-24217 (2023) Link

Structural and mechanistic insights into the C–C bond forming rearrangement reaction catalyzed by heterodimeric hinokiresinol synthase
Ushimaru, R., Ding, Y., Mori, T., Miyamoto, K., Uchiyama, M., Abe, I.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 145, 21966-21973 (2023) Link

Molecular basis for carrier protein-dependent amide bond formation in the biosynthesis of lincosamide antibiotics
Mori, T., Kadlcik, S., Lyu, S., Kamenik, Z., Sakurada, K., Mazumdar, A., Wang, H., Janata, J., Abe, I.
Nature Catalysis, 6, 531-542 (2023) Link | Open Access | Press Release | Behind the paper

Structure-function analysis of the S-glycosylation reaction in lincosamide antibiotics biosynthesis
Mori, T., Sun, X., Kadlcik, S., Janata, J., Abe, I.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 62, e202304989 (2023) Link | VIP Paper | Open Access

Multiple C–C bond cleavage reactions catalyzed by tolyporphin tetrapyrrole biosynthetic enzymes
Ushimaru, R., Lyu, J., Ling, M., Abe, I.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 145, 9834–9839 (2023) Link

Catalytic mechanism of non-glycosidic C-N bond formation by the pseudoglycosyltransferase enzyme VldE
Tsunoda, T., Abuelizz, H., Samadi, A., Wong, C. P., Awakawa, T., Brumsted, C., Abe, I., Mahmud, T.
ACS Catalysis, 13, 13369-13382 (2023) Link

Unusual dioxygen-dependent reactions catalyzed by nonheme iron enzymes in natural product biosynthesis
Ushimaru, R., Abe, I.
ACS Catalysis, 13, 1045-1076 (2023) Link

C–N and C–S bond formation by cytochrome P450 enzymes
Ushimaru, R., Abe, I.
Trends in Chemistry, 5, 526-536 (2023) Link

Structure-based engineering of α-ketoglutarate dependent oxygenases in fungal meroterpenoid biosynthesis
Awakawa, T., Mori, T., Ushimaru, R., Abe, I.
Nat. Prod. Rep., 40, 46-61 (2023) Link

Stereoselectivity and substrate specificity of the Fe(II)/α-ketoglutarate-dependent oxygenase TqaL
Tao, H., Ushimaru, R., Awakawa, T., Mori, T., Uchiyama, M., Abe, I.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 144, 21512-21520 (2022) Link

Discovery of non-squalene triterpenes
Tao, H., Lauterbach, L., Bian, G., Chen, R., Hou, A., Mori, T., Cheng, S., Hu, B., Lu, L., Mu, X., Li, M., Adachi, N., Kawasaki, M., Moriya, T., Senda, T., Wang, X., Deng, Z., Abe, I., Dickschat, J. S., Liu, T.
Nature, 606, 414-419 (2022) Link | Open Access | Press Release | Press Release 2 | Faculty Opinions

Molecular insights into the unusually promiscuous and catalytically versatile Fe(II)/α-ketoglutarate-dependent oxygenase SptF
Tao, H., Mori, T., Chen, H., Lyu, S., Nonoyama, A., Lee, S., Abe, I.
Nature Commun., 13, Article number: 95 (2022) Link | Open Access | Behind the paper

Identification of a diarylpentanoid-producing polyketide synthase revealing an unusual biosynthetic pathway of 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromones in agarwood
Wang, X.-H., Gao, B.-W., Nakashima, Y., Mori, T., Zhang, Z.-X., Kodama, T., Lee, Y.-E., Zhang, Z.-K., Wong, C.-P., Liu, Q.-Q., Qi, B.-W., Wang, J., Li, J., Liu, X., Abe, I., Morita, H., Tu, P.-F., Shi, S.-P.
Nature Commun., 13, Article number: 348 (2022) Link | Open Access | Press Release | NC Focus

Heterodimeric non-heme iron enzymes in fungal meroterpenoid biosynthesis
Li, X., Awakawa, T., Mori, T., Ling, M., Hu, D., Wu, B., Abe, I.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 143, 21425-21432 (2021) Link

β-NAD as a building block in natural product biosynthesis
Barra, L., Awakawa, T., Shirai, K., Hu, Z., Bashiri, G., Abe, I.
Nature, 600, 754-758 (2021) Link | Press Release | Behind the paper | Faculty Opinions

Stereodivergent nitrocyclopropane formation during biosynthesis of belactosins and hormaomycins
Shimo, S., Ushimaru, R., Engelbrecht, A., Harada, M., Miyamoto, K., Andreas, K., Uchiyama, M., Kaysser, L., Abe, I.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 143, 18413-18418 (2021) Link

Molecular insights into the endoperoxide formation by Fe(II)/α-KG-dependent oxygenase NvfI
Mori, T., Zhai, R., Ushimaru, R., Matsuda, Y., Abe, I.
Nature Commun., 12, Article number: 4417 (2021) Link | Open Access | Press Release | Behind the paper | Faculty Opinions

C-Glycoside metabolism in the gut and in nature: Identification, characterization, structural analyses and distribution of C-C bond-cleaving enzymes
Mori, T., Kumano, T., He, H., Watanabe, S., Senda, M., Moriya, T., Adachi, N., Hori, S., Terashita, Y., Kawasaki, M., Hashimoto, Y., Awakawa, T., Senda, T., Abe, I., Kobayashi, M.
Nature Commun., 12, Article number: 6294 (2021) Link | Open Access

Aziridine formation by a Fe(II)/α-ketoglutarate dependent oxygenase and 2-aminoisobutyrate biosynthesis in fungi
Bunno, T., Awakawa, T., Mori, T., Abe, I.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 60, 15827-15831 (2021) Link | Hot Paper

One polyketide synthase, two distinct products: trans-acting enzyme-controlled product divergence in calbistrin biosynthesis
Tao, H., Mori, T., Wei, X., Matsuda, Y., Abe, I.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 60, 8851–8858 (2021) Link | VIP Paper | Cover | Press Release

Chemistry of fungal meroterpenoid cyclases
Barra, L., Abe, I.
Nat. Prod. Rep., 38, 566-585 (2021) Link

Exploiting the potential of meroterpenoid cyclases to expand the chemical space of fungal meroterpenoids
Mitsuhashi, T., Barra, L., Powers, Z., Kojasoy, V., Cheng, A., Yang, F., Taniguchi, Y., Kikuchi, T., Fujita, M., Tantillo, D. J., Porco, J. A. Jr., Abe, I.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 59, 23772-23781 (2020) Link | Hot Paper

Heterochiral coupling in non-ribosomal peptide macrolactamization
Matsuda, K., Zhai, R., Mori, T., Kobayashi, M., Sano, A., Abe, I., Wakimoto, T.
Nature Catalysis, 3, 507-515 (2020) Link | Press Release | Press Release 2 | News & Views

Acyltransferase that catalyses the condensation of polyketide and peptide moieties of goadvionin hybrid lipopeptides
Kozakai, R., Ono, T., Hoshino, S., Takahashi, H., Katsuyama, Y., Sugai, Y., Ozaki, T., Teramoto, K., Teramoto, K., Tanaka, K., Abe, I., Asamizu, S., Onaka, H.
Nature Chemistry, 12, 869–877 (2020) Link | Press Release | Press Release 2

Discovery of the cryptic function of terpene cyclases as aromatic prenyltransferases
He, H., Bian, G., Herbst-Gervason, C. J., Mori, T., Shinsky, S. A., Hou, A., Mu, X., Huang, M., Cheng, S., Deng, Z., Christianson, D. W., Abe, I., Liu, T.
Nature Commun., 11, Article number: 3958 (2020) Link | Open Access | Press Release | Press Release 2 | NC Focus

Biosynthesis of biscognienyne B involving an unprecedented cytochrome P450-dependent alkynylation
Lv, J.-M., Gao, Y.-H., Zhao, H., Awakawa, T., Liu, L., Chen, G.-D., Yao, X.-S., Hu, D., Abe, I., Gao, H.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 59, 13531-13536 (2020) Link

Exploiting a C-N bond forming cytochrome P450 monooxygenase for C-S bond formation
Morita, I., Mori, T., Mitsuhashi, T., Hoshino, S., Taniguchi, Y., Kikuchi, T., Nagae, K., Nasu, N., Fujita, M., Ohwada, T., Abe, I.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 59, 3988-3993 (2020) Link | Hot Paper | Frontispiece

Identification and characterization of N9-methyltransferase involved in converting caffeine into non-stimulatory theacrine in tea
Zhang, Y.-H., Li, Y.-F., Wang, Y., Tan, L., Cao, Z.-Q., Xie, C., Xie, G., Gong, H.-B., Sun, W.-Y., Ouyang, S.-H., Duan, W.-J., Lu, X., Ding, K., Kurihara, H., Hu, D., Zhang, Z.-M., Abe, I., He, R.-R.
Nature Commun., 11, Article number: 1473 (2020) Link | Open Access | Press Release

Molecular basis for the P450-catalyzed C–N bond formation in indolactam biosynthesis
He, F., Mori, T., Morita, I., Nakamura, H., Alblova, M., Hoshino, S., Awakawa, T., Abe, I.
Nature Chem. Biol., 15, 1206-1213 (2019) Link | Open Access | Press Release

Biomimetic synthesis of meroterpenoids by dearomatization-driven polycyclization
Powers, Z., Scharf, A., Yang, F., Cheng, A., Mitsuhashi, T., Barra, L., Taniguchi, Y., Kikuchi, T., Fujita, M., Abe, I., Porco, J. A. Jr.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 58, 16141-16146 (2019) Link

Aminoacyl sulfonamide assembly in SB-203208 biosynthesis
Hu, Z., Awakawa, T., Ma, Z., Abe, I.
Nature Commun., 10, Article number: 184 (2019) Link | Open Access | Press Release

Complete biosynthetic pathways of ascofuranone and ascochlorin in Acremonium egyptiacum: branched pathways encoded at two separate loci
Araki, Y., Awakawa, T., Matsuzaki, M., Cho, R., Matsuda, Y., Hoshino, S., Shinohara, Y., Yamamoto, M., Kido, Y., Inaoka, D. K., Nagamune, K., Ito, K., Abe, I., Kita, K.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 116, 8269-8274 (2019) Link | Open Access | Press Release

Reprogramming of the antimycin NRPS-PKS assembly lines inspired by gene evolution
Awakawa, T., Fujioka, T., Zhang, L., Hoshino, S., Hu, Z., Hashimoto, J., Kozone, I., Ikeda, H., Shin-ya, K., Liu, W., Abe, I.
Nature Commun., 9, Article number: 3534 (2018) Link | Open Access | Press Release

Structural and computational bases for dramatic skeletal rearrangement in anditomin biosynthesis
Nakashima, Y., Mitsuhashi, T., Matsuda, Y., Senda, M., Sato, H., Yamazaki, M., Uchiyama, M., Senda, T., Abe, I.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 140, 9743-9750 (2018) Link

Computational studies on biosynthetic carbocation rearrangements leading to quiannulatene: initial conformation regulates biosynthetic route, stereochemistry, and type of skeleton
Sato, H., Mitsuhashi, T., Yamazaki, M., Abe, I., Uchiyama, M.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 57, 14752-14757 (2018) Link

Novofumigatonin biosynthesis involves a non-heme iron-dependent endoperoxide isomerase for orthoester formation
Matsuda, Y., Bai, T., Phippen, C. B. W., Nødvig, C. S., Kjærbølling, I., Vesth, T. C., Andersen, M. R., Mortensen, U. H., Gotfredsen, C. H., Abe, I., Larsen, T. O.
Nature Commun., 9, Article number: 2587 (2018) Link | Open Access | Blog | Faculty of 1000

Biosynthetic pathway for furanosteroid demethoxyviridin and identification of an unusual pregnane side-chain cleavage
Wang, G.-Q., Chen, G.-D., Qin, S.-Y., Hu, D., Awakawa, T., Li, S.-Y., Lv, J.-M., Wang, C.-X., Yao, X.-S., Abe, I., Gao, H.
Nature Commun., 9, Article number: 1838 (2018) Link | Open Access | Press Release | NC Collection

Molecular insights into the Mg2+-dependent allosteric control of indole prenylation by aromatic prenyltransferase AmbP1
Awakawa, T., Mori, T., Nakashima, Y., Zhai, R., Wong, C. P., Hillwig, M. L., Liu, X., Abe, I.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 57, 6810-6813 (2018) Link

Structure function and engineering of multifunctional non-heme iron dependent oxygenases in fungal meroterpenoid biosynthesis
Nakashima, Y., Mori, T., Nakamura, H., Awakawa, T., Hoshino, S., Senda, M., Senda, T., Abe, I.
Nature Commun., 9, Article number: 104 (2018) Link | Open Access | Press Release

Unique chemistry of non-heme iron dependent enzymes in fungal biosynthetic pathway
Nakamura, H., Matsuda, Y., Abe, I.
Nat. Prod. Rep., 35, 633-645 (2018) Link | Front Cover

Two distinct substrate binding modes for the normal and reverse prenylations of hapalindoles by the prenyltransferase AmbP3
Wong, C. P., Awakawa, T., Nakashima, Y., Mori, T., Zhu, Q., Liu, X., Abe, I.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 57, 560-563 (2018) Link

Molecular basis for the unusual ring reconstruction in fungal meroterpenoid biogenesis
Mori, T., Iwabuchi, T., Hoshino, S., Wang, H., Matsuda, Y., Abe, I.
Nature Chem. Biol., 13, 1066-1073 (2017) Link | Press Release

Biosynthesis of helvolic acid and identification of an unusual C-4-demethylation process distinct from sterol biosynthesis
Lv, J.-M., Hu, D., Gao, H., Kushiro, T., Awakawa, T., Chen, G.-D., Wang, C.-X., Abe, I., Yao, X.-S.
Nature Commun., 8, Article number: 1644 (2017) Link | Open Access | Press Release | NC Collection

Characterization of giant modular PKSs provides insight into genetic mechanism for structural diversification of aminopolyol polyketides
Zhang, L., Hashimoto, T., Qin, B., Hashimoto, J., Kozone, I., Kawahara, T., Okada, M., Awakawa, T., Ito, T., Asakawa, Y., Ueki, M., Takahashi, S., Osada, H., Wakimoto, T., Ikeda, H., Shin-ya, K., Abe, I.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 56, 1740-1745 (2017) Link | Hot Paper | Frontispiece | Press Release

Discovery of key dioxygenases that diverged the paraherquonin and acetoxydehydroaustin pathways in Penicillium brasilianum
Matsuda, Y., Iwabuchi,T., Fujimoto, T., Awakawa,T., Nakashima, Y., Mori, T., Zhang, H., Hayashi, F., Abe, I.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 138, 12671-12677 (2016) Link

Genome-based discovery of an unprecedented cyclization mode in fungal sesterterpenoids biosynthesis
Okada, M., Matsuda, Y., Mitsuhashi, T., Hoshino, S., Mori, T., Nakagawa, K., Quan, Z., Qin, B., Zhang, H., Hayashi, F., Kawaide, H., Abe, I.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 138, 10011-10018 (2016) Link | JACS Spotlights

Manipulation of prenylation reactions by structure-based engineering of bacterial indolactam prenyltransferases
Mori, T., Zhang, L., Awakawa, T., Hoshino, S., Okada, M., Morita, H., Abe, I.
Nature Commun., 7, Article number: 10849 (2016) Link | Open Access | Press Release

Astellifadiene, a unique tetracyclic fungal sesterterpene: structure determination by an NMR-coupled crystalline sponge method and elucidation of its biosynthesis
Matsuda, Y., Mitsuhashi,T., Lee, S., Hoshino, M., Mori, T., Okada, M., Zhang, H., Hayashi, F., Fujita, M., Abe, I.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 55, 5785-5788 (2016) Link | Press Release

An unusual chimeric diterpene synthase from Emericella variecolor and its functional conversion to a sesterterpene synthase by domain swapping
Qin, B., Matsuda, Y., Mori, T., Okada, M., Quan, Z., Mitsuhashi, T., Wakimoto, T., Abe, I.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 55, 1658-1661 (2016) Link | Front Cover | Press Release

Biosynthesis of fungal meroterpenoids
Matsuda, Y., Abe, I.
Nat. Prod. Rep., 33, 26-53 (2016) Link | Open Access

Nature's way of making the sponge-derived cytotoxin
Wakimoto, T., Egami, Y., Abe, I.
Nat. Prod. Rep., 33, 751-760 (2016) Link | Open Access | Front Cover

Rational control of polyketide extender units by structure-based engineering of a crotonyl-CoA carboxylase/reductase in antimycin biosynthesis
Zhang, L., Mori, T., Zheng, Q., Awakawa, T., Yan, Y., Liu, W., Abe, I.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 54, 13462-13465 (2015) Link | Press Release

Uncovering the unusual D-ring construction in terretonin biosynthesis by collaboration of a multifunctional cytochrome P450 and a unique isomerase
Matsuda, Y., Iwabuchi, T., Wakimoto, T., Awakawa, T., Abe, I.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 137, 3393-3401 (2015) Link

Complete biosynthetic pathway of anditomin: nature's sophisticated synthetic route to a complex fungal meroterpenoid
Matsuda, Y., Wakimoto, T., Mori, T., Awakawa, T., Abe, I.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 136, 15326–15336 (2014) Link | Front Cover | JACS Spotlights

Calyculin biogenesis from a pyrophosphate protoxin produced by a sponge symbiont
Wakimoto, T., Egami, Y., Nakashima, Y., Wakimoto,Y., Mori, T., Awakawa,T., Ito, T., Kenmoku, H., Asakawa, Y., Piel, J., Abe, I.
Nature Chem. Biol., 10, 648-655 (2014) Link | News & Views | Press Release | Faculty of 1000

A methyltransferase initiates terpene cyclization in teleocidin B biosynthesis
Awakawa, T., Zhang, L., Wakimoto, T., Hoshino, S., Mori, T., Ito, T., Ishikawa, J., Tanner, M. E., Abe, I.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 136, 9910-9913 (2014) Link | Faculty of 1000

An environmental bacterial taxon with a large and distinct metabolic repertoire
Wilson, M. C., Mori, T., Rückert, C., Uria, A. R., Helf, M. J., Takada, K., Gernert, C., Steffens, U. A. E., Heycke, N., Schmitt, S., Rinke, C., Helfrich, E. J. N., Brachmann, A. O., Gurgui, C., Wakimoto. T., Kracht, M., Crüsemann, M., Hentschel, U., Abe, I., Matsunaga, S., Kalinowski, J., Takeyama, H., Piel, J.
Nature, 506, 58-62 (2014) Link | Open Access | News & Views | Press Release

Spiro-ring formation is catalyzed by a multifunctional dioxygenase in austinol biosynthesis
Matsuda, Y., Awakawa, T., Wakimoto, T., Abe, I.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 135, 10962-10965 (2013) Link

Multiplexing of combinatorial chemistry in antimycin biosynthesis expands the molecular diversity and utility
Yan Y., Chen, J., Zhang, L., Zheng, Q., Han, Y., Zhang, H., Awakawa, T., Abe, I., Liu, W.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 52, 12308-12312 (2013) Link

Synthesis of unnatural alkaloid scaffolds by exploiting plant polyketide synthase
Morita, H., Yamashita, M., Shi, S.-P., Wakimoto, T., Kondo, S., Kato, R., Sugio, S., Kohno, T., Abe, I.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 108, 13504-13509 (2011) Link

Cytotoxic tetramic acid derivative produced by a plant type III polyketide synthase
Wakimoto, T., Mori, T., Morita, H., Abe, I.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 133, 4746-4749 (2011) Link

Furan fatty acid as an anti-inflammatory component from green-lipped mussel Perna canaliculus
Wakimoto, T., Kondo, H., Nii, H., Kimura, K., Egami, Y., Oka, Y., Yoshida, M., Kida, E., Ye, Y.-p., Akahoshi, S., Asakawa, T., Matsumura, K., Ishida, H., Nukaya, H., Tsuji, K., Kan, T., Abe, I.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 108, 17533-17537 (2011) Link

Structural basis for the one-pot formation of the diarylheptanoid scaffold by curcuminoid synthase from Oryza sativa
Morita, H., Wanibuchi, K., Nii, H., Kato, R., Sugio, S., Abe, I.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 107, 19778-19783 (2010) Link

A structure-based mechanism for benzalacetone synthase from Rheum palmatum
Morita, H., Shimokawa, Y., Tanio, M., Kato, R., Noguchi, H., Sugio, S., Kohno, T., Abe, I.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 107, 669-673 (2010) Link

Structure and function of the chalcone synthase superfamily of plant type III polyketide synthases
Abe, I., Morita, H.
Nat. Prod. Rep., 27, 809-838 (2010) Link

Reconstitution of a fungal meroterpenoid biosynthesis reveals the involvement of a novel family of terpene cyclases
Itoh, T., Tokunaga, K., Matsuda, Y., Fujii, I., Abe, I., Ebizuka, Y., Kushiro, T.
Nature Chemistry, 2, 858-864 (2010) Link | News & Views | Faculty of 1000

Structure-based engineering of a plant type III polyketide synthase: formation of an unnatural nonaketide naphthopyrone
Abe, I., Morita, H., Oguro, S., Noma, H., Wanibuchi, K., Kawahara, N., Goda, Y., Noguchi, H., Kohno, T.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 129, 5976-5980 (2007) Link

Structural insight into chain-length control and product specificity of pentaketide chromone synthase from Aloe arborescens
Morita, H., Kondo, S., Oguro, S., Noguchi, H., Sugio, S., Abe, I., Kohno, T.
Chemistry & Biology, 14, 359-369 (2007) Link

Enzymatic synthesis of cyclic triterpenes
Abe, I.
Nat. Prod. Rep., 24, 1311-1331 (2007) Link

Engineered biosynthesis of plant polyketides: chain length control in an octaketide-producing plant type III polyketide synthase
Abe, I., Oguro, S., Utsumi, Y., Sano, Y., Noguchi, H.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 127, 12709-12716 (2005) Link

A plant type III polyketide synthase that produces pentaketide chromone
Abe, I., Utsumi, Y., Oguro, S., Morita, H., Sano, Y., Noguchi, H.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 127, 1362-1363 (2005) Link

Mechanism and stereochemistry of enzymatic cyclization of 24,30-bisnor-2,3-oxidosqualene by recombinant β-amyrin synthase
Abe, I., Sakano, Y., Sodeyama, M., Tanaka, H., Noguchi, H., Shibuya, M., Ebizuka, Y.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 126, 6880-6881 (2004) Link

Enzymatic cyclization of 22,23-dihydro-2,3-oxidosqualene into euph-7-en-3β-ol and bacchar-12-en-3β-ol by recombinant β-amyrin synthase
Abe, I., Sakano, Y., Tanaka, H., Lou, W., Noguchi, H., Shibuya, M., Ebizuka, Y.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 126, 3426-3427 (2004) Link

Site-directed mutagenesis of benzalacetone synthase: the role of Phe215 in plant type III polyketide synthases
Abe, I., Sano, Y., Takahashi, Y., Noguchi, H.
J. Biol. Chem., 278, 25218-25226 (2003) Link

Enzymatic formation of an unnatural hexacyclic C35 polyprenoid by bacterial squalene cyclase
Abe, I., Tanaka, H., Noguchi, H.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 124, 14514-14515 (2002) Link

Substrate specificity of chalcone synthase: enzymatic formation of unnatural polyketides from synthetic cinnamoyl-CoA analogs
Abe, I., Morita, H., Nomura, A., Noguchi, H.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 122, 11242-11243 (2000) Link

Cyclization of (3S)29-methylidene-2,3-oxidosqualene by bacterial squalene:hopene cyclase: irreversible enzyme inactivation and isolation of an unnatural dammarenoid
Abe, I., Dang, T., Zheng, Y. F., Madden, B. A., Feil, C., Poralla, K., Prestwich, G. D.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 119, 11333-11334 (1997) Link

Mechanism-based active site modification of oxidosqualene cyclase by tritium labeled 18-thia-2,3-oxidosqualene
Abe, I., Liu, W., Oehlschlagar, A. C., Prestwich, G. D.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 118, 9180-9181 (1996) Link

Molecular cloning, characterization, and functional expression of rat oxidosqualene cyclase
Abe, I., Prestwich, G. D.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 92, 9274-9278 (1995) Link

Inhibitors of squalene biosynthesis and metabolism
Abe, I., Tomesch, J. C., Wattanasin, S., Prestwich, G. D.
Nat. Prod. Rep., 11, 279-302 (1994) Link

Active site mapping of affinity labeled rat oxidosqualene cyclase
Abe, I., Prestwich, G. D.
J. Biol. Chem., 269, 802-804 (1994) Link

Enzymatic cyclization of squalene and oxidosqualene to sterols and triterpenes
Abe, I., Rohmer, M., Prestwich, G. D.
Chem. Rev., 93, 2189-2206 (1993) Link