Wallace, StephenSchultz, EricaBalskus, Emily2017-07-202015Wallace, Stephen, Erica E Schultz, and Emily P Balskus. 2015. “Using Non-Enzymatic Chemistry to Influence Microbial Metabolism.” Current Opinion in Chemical Biology 25 (April): 71–79. doi:10.1016/j.cbpa.2014.12.024.1367-5931http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:33470133The structural manipulation of small molecule metabolites occurs in all organisms and plays a fundamental role in essentially all biological processes. Despite an increasing interest in developing new, non-enzymatic chemical reactions capable of functioning in the presence of living organisms, the ability of such transformations to interface with cellular metabolism and influence biological function is a comparatively underexplored area of research. This review will discuss efforts to combine non-enzymatic chemistry with microbial metabolism. We will highlight recent and historical uses of non-biological reactions to study microbial growth and function, the use of non-enzymatic transformations to rescue auxotrophic microorganisms, and the combination of engineered microbial metabolism and biocompatible chemical reactions for organic synthesis.en-USJournal Article2017-05-1120152017-07-2010.1016/j.cbpa.2014.12.024