Isoprenoids are constructed in nature using hemiterpene building blocks that are biosynthesized from lengthy enzymatic pathways with little opportunity to deploy precursor-directed biosynthesis. Here, an artificial alcohol-dependent hemiterpene biosynthetic pathway was designed and coupled to several isoprenoid biosynthetic systems, affording lycopene and a prenylated tryptophan in robust yields. This approach affords a potential route to diverse non-natural hemiterpenes and by extension isoprenoids modified with non-natural chemical functionality. Accordingly, the prototype chemo-enzymatic pathway is a critical first step towards the construction of engineered microbial strains for bioconversion of simple scalable building blocks into complex isoprenoid scaffolds.

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The most difficult thing I’ve had to do in grad school so far is find my voice. I’ve always been a smart kid. I got good grades and jumped through every hoop put in front of me. I thought grad school would be the same. I was so, so wrong. I didn’t realize that while being smart may have been what got me into grad school, it wasn’t going to be what kept me there. Because I was a quiet, anxious kid who kept to myself, interpersonal stuff was always hard for me. I didn’t realize that deficiency would catch up with me in graduate school. I had to learn to communicate my needs, whether that was getting help with experiments or getting help resolving conflicts with coworkers. I had to learn to confidently communicate and defend my ideas. I had to learn to stop apologizing for putting time and