The Long, Long Way to Bottromycin

Abstract

Although discovered already in the middle of last century, the bottromycins are a unique class of natural products, and a real challenge for all kind of researchers trying to get familiar with them. The structure elucidation was a tour de force and last over 50 years. Synthetic approaches were also painful and it was actually the first and so far only synthesis which confirmed/revised the previously proposed structures. Recent investigations on the biosynthetic pathway indicate that the bottromycins belong to the ribosomally synthesized and posttranslational modified peptides, but that also the biosynthesis does not proceed along the “usual way”. This review will cover the development of bottromycin research from the beginning until today, with a focus on synthetic studies, total synthesis and modifications.