The discovery of new bioactive natural products is still a fascinating field in organic chemistry as demonstrated by the recent paradigms of the anticancer drug epothilon, the immunosuppressant rapamycin, or the proteasome inhibitor salinosporamide,  to name but a few of hundreds of possible examples. Finding new secondary metabolites is a prerequisite for the development of novel pharmaceuticals, and this is an especially urgent task in the case of antibiotics due to the rapid spreading of bacterial resistances and the emergence of multiresistant pathogenic strains, which poses severe clinical problems in the treatment of infectious diseases. This Thematic Series on the biosynthesis and function of secondary metabolites deals with the discovery of new biologically active compounds from all kinds of sources, including plants, bacteria, and fungi, and also with their biogenesis. Biosynthetic aspects are closely related to functional investigations, because a deep understanding of metabolic pathways to natural products, not only on a chemical, but also on a genetic and enzymatic level, allows for the expression of whole biosynthetic gene clusters in heterologous hosts. This technique can make interesting, new secondary metabolites available from unculturable microorganisms, or may be used to optimise their availability by fermentation, for further research and also for production in the pharmaceutical industry.

See also the Thematic Series:
Natural products in synthesis and biosynthesis II
Natural products in synthesis and biosynthesis