Fig. 2: Sordaricin biosynthesis involves a concise yet well-programed chemical logic.

a Stepwise heterologous reconstitution of genes involved in sordaricin biosynthesis. The chromatograms are extracted from mass spectra of the base peak for each compound. b Complete biosynthetic pathway for sordaricin. The main pathway is highlighted with a shaded background. All numbered compounds are structurally characterized via NMR and HRMS. The compound in bracket is proposed but not observed.