This review summarises known sesquiterpenes whose biosyntheses proceed through the intermediate germacrene A. First, the occurrence and biosynthesis of germacrene A in Nature and its peculiar chemistry will be highlighted, followed by a discussion of 6-6 and 5-7 bicyclic compounds and their more complex derivatives. For each compound the absolute configuration, if it is known, and the reasoning for its assignment is presented.
Keywords: biosynthesis; configuration determination; enzyme catalysis; germacrene A; sesquiterpenes.
© 2020 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.