Elucidating the structures of powerful fish toxins from algal blooms.

[NNadir]

2. According to the text's references, which I have not as yet collected or read...

...the biosynthesis proceeds in a stepwise series of methylations resulting from acetate condensation and, presumably, decarboxylation steps.

Whether this involves an unsaturated fatty acid intermediate, I cannot say. I'll put up a comment if I get around to getting the references and have time to leaf through them.

If I just looked at the molecule and had to make an unsophisticated guess, I would have imagined carbohydrate biochemistry might have been involved because of all the hydroxy functions, but that would be, apparently naive.

Thanks for your interesting comment.