Learning Chemistry from Bacteria

Dr. Jon Clardy Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University All animals, including humans, originated and evolved on a planet already teeming with bacteria, and the two kingdoms of life have been competing and cooperating through their joint history. Although bacteria are most familiar as pathogens, some bacteria produce small molecules that are essential for the biology of animals and other eukaryotes. This lecture explores some of these roles and the small molecule chemistry that underlies them.