A recent publication in Chemical Communications by Professor Xinyu Liu and his colleagues, “Unified biogenesis of ambiguine, fischerindole, hapalindole and welwitindolinone: identification of a monogeranylated indolenine as a cryptic common biosynthetic intermediate by an unusual magnesium-dependent aromatic prenyltransferase”(http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/cc/c5cc10060g#!divAbstract) was highlighted by Professor Ikuro Abe of the University of Tokyo, in Faculty of 1000 (http://f1000.com/prime/726061353).
It is Professor Abe’s view that, “….the results demonstrated by Liu et al. further illustrate the importance of metal cofactors in controlling the activity of prenyltransferases…. These findings set the stage for understanding the molecular basis of the metal dependency of prenyltransferases, as well as for new applications in biocatalysis and bioengineering.