Melleins are 3,4-dihydroisocoumarins mainly produced by fungi, but also by plants, insects and bacteria. These specialized metabolites play important roles in the life cycles of the producers and they are involved in many biochemical and ecological processes. This review outlines the isolation and chemical and biological characterizations of natural-occurring melleins from the first report of (R)-mellein in 1933 to the most recent advances in their characterization in 2019. In addition, the pathways that could be involved in mellein biosynthesis are discussed, along with the enzymes and genes involved.

中文翻译：

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Melleins——有趣的天然化合物。


Melleins 是 3,4-二氢异香豆素，主要由真菌产生，但也由植物、昆虫和细菌产生。这些专门的代谢物在生产者的生命周期中发挥着重要作用，并且参与许多生化和生态过程。本综述概述了从 1933 年首次报道 (R)-mellein 到 2019 年其表征的最新进展，天然存在的 mellein 的分离以及化学和生物学特征。此外，可能参与 mellein 生物合成的途径以及所涉及的酶和基因进行了讨论。