MS-Derived Isotopic Fine Structure Reveals Forazoline A as a Thioketone-Containing Marine-Derived Natural Product

Forazoline A is a structurally complex PKS-NRPS hybrid produced by marine-derived Actinomadura sp. During the course of studies highlighting the application of IFS analysis as a powerful tool for natural products analysis, we were alerted to an earlier misinterpretation with respect to forazoline A structure elucidation. In particular, IFS reveals that forazoline A contains a thioketone moiety rarely seen in secondary metabolites and, thus, constitutes an even more intriguing structure than originally thought.