Fig. 1.

Two approaches for deciphering new biosynthetic pathways. (A) “Forward approach”, where information from genes is used to decipher the biological pathways. “Retro-biosynthetic approach” is where a known product is linked to the genes. Some of the available methods belonging to either approach have been mentioned in boxes. (B) Alternative approaches to connecting genes and metabolites. (Left Panel) Use of module organization in comparison of secondary metabolite gene clusters and prediction of the secondary metabolite synthesized. (Right Panel) Retro-biosynthetic approach for prediction of the gene cluster responsible for biosynthesis of a particular secondary metabolite.