A Biosynthetic Numbering System for Diterpene Pyrones

Abstract

Diterpene pyrones, spiroditerpenoids, and brevianes are names given to a series of fungal meroterpenoids that share common structural features and a common biosynthetic pathway elaborated by multiple oxidations, rearrangements, and cyclizations to produce the observed structural diversity. A unifying approach to the numbering of these fungal metabolites, based on a common biosynthetic progenitor, a geranylgeranyl-pyrone hybrid, is presented. This proposal will foster simplicity through a standardized numbering system that can be applied to the known members of this family, as well as to future metabolites.