Total synthesis of a reported fluorometabolite from Streptomyces sp. TC1 indicates an incorrect assignment. The isolated compound did not contain fluorine.

3,5-Di-tert-butyl-4-fluorophenylpropionic acid (1) was recently reported as a natural product from Streptomyces sp. TC1. This was a notable disclosure because fluorinated natural products are exceedingly rare, and in this case it suggested that the bacterium had the capacity to mediate an enzymatic aryl fluorination reaction. However, a synthesis of the putative metabolite 1 demonstrates that the spectroscopic data are inconsistent with the proposed structure. There is no evidence that the isolated compound contained a fluorine atom.