Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40550969›Full record

ArticleNature chemistry2025

A biocompatible Lossen rearrangement in Escherichia coli.

Nick W Johnson, Marcos Valenzuela-Ortega, Thomas W Thorpe, Yuta Era, Annemette Kjeldsen, Keith Mulholland, Stephen Wallace

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature chemistry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Micro-engineering the future.Nature microbiology · 2026
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. EngineeringiScience · 2026
    Article
  7. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Nick W JohnsonInstitute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-6389-2112
Marcos Valenzuela-OrtegaInstitute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Thomas W ThorpeInstitute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Yuta EraInstitute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-1670-7110
Annemette KjeldsenInstitute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Keith MulhollandChemical Development, Pharmaceutical Technology and Development, Operations, AstraZeneca, Macclesfield, UK.
Stephen WallaceInstitute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. stephen.wallace@ed.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0003-1391-5800

Funding

RCUK | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) EP/T517501/1RCUK | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) EP/W019000/1Research Councils UK (RCUK) MR/S033882/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Nature has evolved an exquisite yet limited set of chemical reactions that underpin the function of all living organisms. By contrast, the field of synthetic organic chemistry can access reactivity not observed in nature, and integration of these abiotic reactions within living systems offers an elegant solution to the sustainable synthesis of many industrial chemicals from renewable feedstocks. Here we report a biocompatible Lossen rearrangement that is catalysed by phosphate in the bacterium Escherichia coli for the transformation of activated acyl hydroxamates to primary amine-containing metabolites in living cells. Through auxotroph rescue, we demonstrate how this new-to-nature reaction can be used to control microbial growth and chemistry by generating the essential metabolite para-aminobenzoic acid. The Lossen rearrangement substrate can also be synthesized from polyethylene terephthalate and applied to whole-cell biocatalytic reactions and fermentations generating industrial small molecules (including the drug paracetamol), paving the way for a general strategy to bioremediate and upcycle plastic waste in native and engineered biological systems.

Indexed as

Biocompatible MaterialsEscherichia coli4-Aminobenzoic AcidBiocatalysisPhosphatesPolyethylene Terephthalates4-Aminobenzoic AcidBiocompatible MaterialsPhosphatesPolyethylene Terephthalates

Identifiers

PMID40550969
PMCPMC12226347

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.