Biosynthesis of nonribosomal peptides

The structure-function relationship of the core- and tailoring-domains of nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) is reviewed and different biosynthetic strategies and essential enzymes for posttranslational modification and editing are discussed. It is found that several crystal structures of NRPS-domains have yielded deep insight into the catalytic mechanisms involved and have led to a better prediction of the products assembled and to the construction of hybrid enzymes.