Chemical labelling of protein 4'‐phosphopantetheinylation

Nature utilizes a diverse array of protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) to regulate protein structure, activity, localization, and function. Among them, protein 4'-phosphopantetheinylation derived from Coenzyme A (CoA) is an essential PTM for the biosynthesis of fatty acids, polyketides, and non-ribosomal peptides in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. To explore its functions, various chemical probes mimicking the natural structure of 4'-phosphopantetheinylation have been developed. In this minireview, we summarize these chemical probes and describe their applications in direct and metabolic labelling of proteins in bacterial and mammalian cells.