In Bacteria, an Astonishing Array of Chemical Factories

In 2008, it was 41. In 2012, it grew to 140. Now, the number is 262. What is it? It's the number of aromatic compounds that bacteria are known to synthesize. A new third-generation inventory of "terpene synthase" genes in bacteria has revealed widespread ability in simple microbes to manufacture complex organic compounds. Each chemical compound is backed by one or more genes that codes for an enzyme machine ("synthase") able to construct it.

Yuuki Yamada and a team of six colleagues in Tokyo...