Chapter 19: How recent knowledge on furano-specific enzymes has renewed interest for the synthesis of glycofuranosyl-containing conjugates

d-Galactose in its furanose form is undoubtedly an enigma in glycosciences that has triggered numerous chemical, physical and biological studies over the last thirty years. This chapter is dedicated to show how chemists have been inspired by enzymes involved in the biosynthesis and metabolism of furanosyl-containing conjugates. The resulting molecular tools have proven to be essential for better understanding mutases, furanosyl transferases and furanosyl hydrolases, their impact, their activity and the corresponding biochemical pathways. Moreover, this chapter includes some examples highlighting the use of modern NMR techniques and of molecular biology as new tools in chemical laboratories that contributed to the elucidation of mechanism pathways and/or to the production of new biocatalysts useful for the synthesis of furanosyl-containing conjugates.