Biochemistry: Elusive source of sulfur unravelled.

The article discusses a research paper on the key enzymatic steps to install the sulfur atom of the antibiotic lincomycin A during its biosynthesis in the bacterium Streptomyces lincolnensis. It references a study by Q. Zhao et al., published within the issue of "Nature". It discusses the role of mycothiol as a sulfur donor and the involvement of ergothioneine in the chemical activation of the carbon atom that will bear the sulfur.