Hutchinson's legacy: keeping on polyketide biosynthesis.

Professor Charles Richard Hutchinson (Hutch) dedicated his research to the study of polyketide compounds, in particular, those produced by actinomycetes. Hutch principally centered his efforts to study the biosynthesis of bioactive compounds, antibiotic and antitumor drugs, and to develop new derivatives with improved therapeutic properties. After dedicating 40 years to the study of polyketides, Hutch leaves us, as legacy, the knowledge that he and his collaborators have accumulated and shared with the scientific community. The best tribute we can offer to him is keeping on the study of polyketides and other bioactive compounds, in an effort to generate more safer and useful drugs. In this review, the work on the polyketides, borrelidin, steffimycin and streptolydigin, performed at the laboratory of Professors Salas and Méndez at University of Oviedo (Spain) during the last 10 years, is summarized.