Cleaning up Polyketide Synthases

Complex biosynthetic enzymes such as polyketide synthases make mistakes. In this issue of Chemistry & Biology, Jensen et al. report that a discrete family of acyltransferases is responsible for error correction, hydrolyzing key biosynthetic intermediates from a multi-enzyme complex. This activity might find use in understanding polyketide biosynthesis, particularly in uncultivated organisms and in tailoring the synthesis of small molecules.