Books include tetronic acids,the nonadrides,and zara- gozic acids. The Chemistry of Fungi J.R.Hanson's book The Chemistry of Fungi presents a can only offer a short insight into their structural good overview of important natura diversity.as exemplified by a discussion of anthra dea quinone pigme nts,pulvinic acids,metal complexes volatiles plant pathogens and my toxin There then follows a discussion of plant diseases Therefore.the book fills a gap.since no books caused by fungi.such as the gray mold fungus devoted to fungal natural products have been (Botrytis cinerea)that attacks more than 200 diffe p shed in the e last th ent pla including many crop plants an distributed from tree to tree by the elm-bark beetle.is also discussed. The penultimate chapter is devoted to the 09 an instrumental analytical methods such as mass include the trichothecenes s the aflatoxins,and the spectrometry and,first and foremost.NMR ergot alkaloids,as well as the amanitins and H last chapter d the application o funei..、 the influ of environmenta omplished only with great difficulty,such as the conditions and the age of the cultures on the stereoselective hydroxylation of the CH,group in ctionof con lites and describes dor the the steroid skeleton for the prepa- des a rich collect on af inform practical imp onanesinceanlibidilepi tion in densely packed form focuss ne on te on a large scale from fungal cultures The following four chapters deal ith constit Reports.As the number ol a cording their hetlprod important co perties the discussing particular compounds of these classes the structural elucidation,and the biosynthesisof many ning the compounds a e disc he from amino acids covers not only the commer helpful glosary explains the important B-lactam antibiotics,such as penicillin most important terms in fungal biology.However. sion of the book is y by s al fo and lcks transplantation medicine because of their immu mation on its absolute configuration. The suppressive activity.Outstanding representatives typical odor of mush oms is not caused by (S)-1 n the group of polyketides are griseofulvin,kr octen-3-ol bu by (R)-1-octen-3-ol.A severe shor the the cholesterol level.The chapte which cites only few selected par ers That would e penes and terpenoids is especially detailed for a textbook but this book nc luding topics such the chemistry of h ded for experence d natural produ nes f th berellins that and pap ergosterol.which is important for the cell wall on.Roy Despite these deficiencies,which may be easily construction of fungr a shor improved in a new editi I reco nmend the boc ng w bi natu sts 845 interScience 2008 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH Co.KGaA.Weinheim Angew.Chem Int.Ed 2008.48.846-848The Chemistry of Fungi J. R. Hansons book The Chemistry of Fungi presents a good overview of important natural products from fungi, dealing with their roles as antibiotics, fungicides, pigments, volatiles, plant pathogens, and mycotoxins. Therefore, the book fills a gap, since no books devoted to fungal natural products have been published in the last few years. Hanson begins with a historical retrospective, highlighting the changes in research on the isolation and structure elucidation of natural products, including those of fungi, that occurred during the last few decades through advances in chromatographic separation techniques and in instrumental analytical methods such as mass spectrometry and, first and foremost, NMR spectroscopy. In the second chapter Hanson describes the methods used to establish mycelial cultures of fungi, discusses the influences of environmental conditions and the age of the cultures on the production of secondary metabolites, and describes methods for their isolation and for the elucidation of their biosynthesis, which is a topic of great practical importance, since antibiotics are isolated on a large scale from fungal cultures. The following four chapters deal with constit￾uents of fungi arranged according to their bioge￾netic origin, including amino acids, polyketides, terpenoids, and precursors of the citrate cycle. In discussing particular compounds of these classes, the author puts special emphasis on explaining the elucidation of the structures and of their biosyn￾thesis. The chapter on fungal constituents derived from amino acids covers not only the commercially important b-lactam antibiotics, such as penicillin and cephalosporin, but also the diketopiperazines, gliotoxin, cyclopenin, cochliodinol, agaritine, and the cyclosporins that are of eminent importance in transplantation medicine because of their immu￾nosuppressive activity. Outstanding representatives in the group of polyketides are griseofulvin, known for its ability to attack dermatophytic fungi, and the statins, highly valued for their function of depress￾ing the cholesterol level. The chapter on fungal terpenes and terpenoids is especially detailed, including topics such as the chemistry of the trichothecenes that inhibit the sporulation of the plant-pathogenic fungus Botrytis allii, of the gib￾berellins that influence plant growth, and of ergosterol, which is important for the cell wall construction of fungi. That is followed by a short chapter dealing with fungal compounds that orig￾inate at least partly from the citrate cycle. These include tetronic acids, the nonadrides, and zara￾gozic acids. The seventh chapter is devoted to fungal pig￾ments and volatiles. Pigments play a major role in fungi, and even a chapter devoted entirely to them can only offer a short insight into their structural diversity, as exemplified by a discussion of anthra￾quinone pigments, pulvinic acids, metal complexes, and carotenoids. There then follows a discussion of plant diseases caused by fungi, such as the gray mold fungus (Botrytis cinerea) that attacks more than 200 differ￾ent plant species, including many crop plants and their fruits. Dutch elm disease, in which the fungus Ceratocystis ulmi is distributed from tree to tree by the elm-bark beetle, is also discussed. The penultimate chapter is devoted to the most important mycotoxins and to toxins of fruiting bodies of mushrooms. Those described include the trichothecenes, the aflatoxins, and the ergot alkaloids, as well as the amanitins and psilocybin. The last chapter deals with the application of fungal enzymes in reactions that otherwise can be accomplished only with great difficulty, such as the stereoselective hydroxylation of the CH2 group in position 11 of the steroid skeleton for the prepa￾ration of corticoids. The book provides a rich collection of informa￾tion in densely packed form, focussing on terpe￾noids, which the author has reviewed several times in Natural Products Reports. As the number of natural products derived from fungi is so enormous, the book can only present a selection of the most important compounds. Although the properties, the structural elucidation, and the biosynthesis of many compounds are discussed, the book contains little information about chemical synthesis. The table of contents gives easy access to the natural products discussed, and a very helpful glossary explains the most important terms in fungal biology. However, this generally positive impression of the book is marred by some serious mistakes: Thus, the struc￾tural formula of amanitin is incorrect and lacks information on its absolute configuration. The typical odor of mushrooms is not caused by (S)-1- octen-3-ol but by (R)-1-octen-3-ol. A severe short￾coming is the incompleteness of the collection of references in the chapter “Further Reading”, which cites only few selected papers. That would be acceptable for a textbook, but this book is mainly intended for experienced natural products chemists, who are certainly interested in ob￾taining background information from original papers. Despite these deficiencies, which may be easily improved in a new edition, I recommend the book as an important source of information to all natural products chemists, as well as to biochemists, Acid Catalysis in Modern Organic Synthesis By James R. Hanson. Royal Society of Chemistry, Cam￾bridge 2008. 204 pp., hard￾cover £ 60.—ISBN 978- 0854041367 Books 846 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 846 – 848