Members of the enediyne family all share a unique enediyne core that is the cause of their potent cytotoxicity. The enediyne cores are derived from linear, probably polyketide, precursors that consist of seven or eight head-to-tail coupled acetate units. Enediyne assembly involves a highly conserved, iterative type I polyketide synthase (PKS) pathway Sequencing of enediyne gene clusters has confirmed the polyketide origin of the enediyne core, and elucidated the biosynthetic pathways and mechanisms of enediynes.
Differences in the biosynthetic pathways of enediynes are due to the different origins of the -yne carbons as well as differences in isotope incorporation patterns. More differentiation comes from the attachment of various functional groups at different positions to the enediyne warheads during their maturation stage. These moieties can be either aromatic or sugars and define sequence specificity of DNA binding as well as the physical properties of the enediyne chromophores.
Due to the cytotoxicity of the enediyne chromophores, their biosynthesis is tightly regulated, although the regulatory mechanisms are still largely unclear. Organisms that produce enediynes have been shown to protect themselves with a self-resistance mechanism that uses a self-sacrificing protein. Notably, some microbes use CalC to sequester calicheamicin so that the reactive diradical abstracts hydrogens from a glycine inside of the protein instead of from DNA.