In vitro characterization of the enzymes involved in TDP-D-forosamine biosynthesis in the spinosyn pathway of Saccharopolyspora spinosa

Forosamine (4-dimethylamino)-2,3,4,6-tetradeoxy-beta-D-threo-hexopyranose) is a highly deoxygenated sugar component of several important natural products, including the potent yet environmentally benign insecticide spinosyns. To study D-forosamine biosynthesis, the five genes (spnO, N, Q, R, and S) from the spinosyn gene cluster thought to be involved in the conversion of TDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-glucose to TDP-D-forosamine were cloned and heterologously expressed, and the corresponding proteins were purified and their activities examined in vitro. Previous work demonstrated that SpnQ functions as a pyridoxamine 5'-monophosphate (PMP)-dependent 3-dehydrase which, in the presence of the cellular reductase pairs ferredoxin/ferredoxin reductase or flavodoxin/flavodoxin reductase, catalyzes C-3 deoxygenation of TDP-4-keto-2,6-dideoxy-D-glucose. It was also established that SpnR functions as a transaminase which converts the SpnQ product, TDP-4-keto-2,3,6-trideoxy-D-glucose, to TDP-4-amino-2,3,4,6-tetradeoxy-D-glucose. The results presented here provide a full account of the characterization of SpnR and SpnQ and reveal that SpnO and SpnN functions as a 2,3-dehydrase and a 3-ketoreductase, respectively. These two enzymes act sequentially to catalyze C-2 deoxygenation of TDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-glucose to form the SpnQ substrate, TDP-4-keto-2,6-dideoxy-D-glucose. Evidence has also been obtained to show that SpnS functions as the 4-dimethyltransferase that converts the SpnR product to TDP-D-forosamine. Thus, the biochemical functions of the five enzymes involved in TDP-D-forosamine formation have now been fully elucidated. The steady-state kinetic parameters for the SpnQ-catalyzed reaction have been determined, and the substrate specificities of SpnQ and SpnR have been explored. The implications of this work for natural product glycodiversification and comparative mechanistic analysis of SpnQ and related NDP-sugar 3-dehydrases E1 and ColD are discussed.     

Characterization of protein encoded by spnR from the spinosyn gene cluster of Saccharopolyspora spinosa: mechanistic implications for forosamine biosynthesis

d-Forosamine is a 4-N,N-(dimethylamino)-2,3,4,6-tetradeoxy-alpha-d-threo-hexopyranose found in spinosyn produced by Saccharopolyspora spinosa. Studies of spinosyn biosynthesis in S. spinosa led to the isolation of the entire biosynthetic gene cluster. Heterologous expression of spnR, one putative gene in forosamine biosynthesis, in E. coli and purification of the SpnR protein identified it as an aminotransferase catalyzing the conversion of the 4-keto-2,3,6-trideoxy sugar intermediate to the corresponding 4-amino sugar product. Identification of SpnR function relied on the use of a stable TMP-phosphonate sugar in place of TDP-sugar substrate to determine the function of SpnR. This strategy may find general applicability for designing probes to study enzymes which catalyze the transformation of labile deoxysugar intermediates.     

Characterization of SpnQ from the spinosyn biosynthetic pathway of Saccharopolyspora spinosa: mechanistic and evolutionary implications for C-3 deoxygenation in deoxysugar biosynthesis

The C-3 deoxygenation step in the biosynthesis of d-forosamine (4-N,N-dimethylamino-2,3,4,6-tetradeoxy-d-threo-hexopyranose), a constituent of spinosyn produced by Saccharopolyspora spinosa, was investigated. The spnQ gene, proposed to encode a TDP-4-keto-2,6-dideoxy-d-glucose 3-dehydratase was cloned and overexpressed in E. coli. Characterization of the purified enzyme established that it is a PMP and iron-sulfur containing enzyme which catalyzes the C-3 deoxygenation in a reductase-dependent manner similar to that of the previously well characterized hexose 3-dehydrase E1 from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. However, unlike E1, which has evolved to work with a specific reductase partner present in its gene cluster, SpnQ lacks a specific reductase, and works efficiently with general cellular reductases ferredoxin/ferredoxin reductase or flavodoxin/flavodoxin reductase. SpnQ also catalyzes C-4 transamination in the absence of an electron transfer intermediary and in the presence of PLP and l-glutamate. Under the same conditions, both E1 and the related hexose 3-dehydrase, ColD, catalyze C-3 deoxygenation. Thus, SpnQ possesses important features which distinguish it from other well studied homologues, suggesting unique evolutionary pathways for each of the three hexose 3-dehydrases studied thus far.     

A Branched Diterpene Cascade: The Mechanism of Spinodiene Synthase from Saccharopolyspora spinosa

A diterpene synthase from Saccharopolyspora spinosa was found to convert geranylgeranyl diphosphate into the new natural products spinodiene A and B, accompanied by 2,7,18‐dolabellatriene. The structures and the formation mechanism of the enzyme products were investigated by extensive isotopic labelling experiments, which revealed an unusual branched isomerisation mechanism towards the neutral intermediate 2,7,18‐dolabellatriene. A Diels–Alder reaction was used to convert the main diterpene product with its rare conjugated diene moiety into formal sesterterpene alcohols.     

Heterologous expression in Saccharopolyspora erythraea of a pentaketide synthase derived from the spinosyn polyketide synthase

A truncated version of the spinosyn polyketide synthase comprising the loading module and the first four extension modules fused to the erythromycin thioesterase domain was expressed in Saccharopolyspora erythraea. A novel pentaketide lactone product was isolated, identifying cryptic steps of spinosyn biosynthesis and indicating the potential of this approach for the biosynthetic engineering of spinosyn analogues. A pathway for the formation of the tetracyclic spinosyn aglycone is proposed.     

Cloning and analysis of the spinosad biosynthetic gene cluster of Saccharopolyspora spinosa

BACKGROUND: Spinosad is a mixture of novel macrolide secondary metabolites produced by Saccharopolyspora spinosa. It is used in agriculture as a potent insect control agent with exceptional safety to non-target organisms. The cloning of the spinosyn biosynthetic gene cluster provides the starting materials for the molecular genetic manipulation of spinosad yields, and for the production of novel derivatives containing alterations in the polyketide core or in the attached sugars. RESULTS: We cloned the spinosad biosynthetic genes by molecular probing, complementation of blocked mutants, and cosmid walking, and sequenced an 80 kb region. We carried out gene disruptions of some of the genes and analyzed the mutants for product formation and for the bioconversion of intermediates in the spinosyn pathway. The spinosyn gene cluster contains five large open reading frames that encode a multifunctional, multi-subunit type I polyketide synthase (PKS). The PKS cluster is flanked on one side by genes involved in the biosynthesis of the amino sugar forosamine, in O-methylations of rhamnose, in sugar attachment to the polyketide, and in polyketide cross-bridging. Genes involved in the early common steps in the biosynthesis of forosamine and rhamnose, and genes dedicated to rhamnose biosynthesis, were not located in the 80 kb cluster. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the S. spinosa genes involved in spinosyn biosynthesis are found in one 74 kb cluster, though it does not contain all of the genes required for the essential deoxysugars. Characterization of the clustered genes suggests that the spinosyns are synthesized largely by mechanisms similar to those used to assemble complex macrolides in other actinomycetes. However, there are several unusual genes in the spinosyn cluster that could encode enzymes that generate the most striking structural feature of these compounds, a tetracyclic polyketide aglycone nucleus.     

Efficient two-step synthesis of methylphytylbenzoquinones: precursor intermediates in the biosynthesis of vitamin E

Methylphytylbenzoquinone was synthesized from δ-tocopherol by a simple two-step sequence. Oxidative cleavage of the benzopyran ring with cerium sulfate followed by dehydration using Burgess reagent afforded the methylphytylbenzoquinone as a mixture of positional and geometric isomers which were separated by HPLC. The biological activity of the product corresponds to the natural biosynthetic precursor of vitamin E. The above method is a general procedure applicable to the preparation of any of the tocopherol derivatives.     

Mutagenesis of the thiostrepton precursor peptide at Thr7 impacts both biosynthesis and function

The seventh residue of thiostrepton is predicted to be critical for antibacterial activity. Substitution of Thr7 in the thiostrepton precursor peptide disrupts both biological activity and the successful biosynthesis of analogs.     

The early stages of taxol biosynthesis: an interim report on the synthesis and identification of early pathway metabolites

The biosynthesis of the anti-cancer drug taxol (paclitaxel) has required the collaborative efforts of several research groups to tackle the synthesis and labeling of putative biosynthetic intermediates, in concert with the identification, cloning and functional expression of the biosynthetic genes responsible for the construction of this complex natural product. Based on a combination of precursor labeling and incorporation experiments, and metabolite isolation from Taxus spp., a picture of the complex matrix of pathway oxygenation reactions following formation of the first committed intermediate, taxa-4(5),11(12)-diene, is beginning to emerge. An overview of the current state of knowledge on the early-stages of taxol biosynthesis is presented.     

Stereo-controlled synthesis of prelasalocid, a key precursor proposed in the biosynthesis of polyether antibiotic lasalocid A

In the biosynthesis of a polyether ionophore antibiotic, lasalocid A, the cyclic ether skeleton composed of a tetrahydrofuran linked to a tetrahydropyran could be constructed by oxidative cyclization of linear dodecaketide diene precursor. Hence, we hypothesized a prelasalocid having (E,E)-trisubstituted olefins as the dodecaketide biosynthetic precursor. A stereo-controlled synthetic route to the prelasalocid has been devised in a highly convergent manner entailing installation of a variety of substituents at the trisubstituted olefins.     

The biosynthesis of bisvertinolone: evidence for oxosorbicillinol as a direct precursor

Biosynthetic incorporation of labeled sodium acetate into oxosorbicillinol in Trichoderma sp. USF-2690 suggests that oxosorbicillinol is derived from six acetate units, and subsequent bioconversion of the labeled oxosorbicillinol to bisvertinolone in the fermentation of the strain suggests that bisvertinolone is biosynthesized from oxosorbicillinol and sorbicillinol in a Michael-type reaction.     

The biosynthesis of crucifer phytoalexins: unprecedented incorporation of a 1-methoxyindolyl precursor

The first biosynthetic studies revealing that 1-methoxy-3-indolylacetaldehyde oxime is an early precursor of 1-methoxyindole containing phytoalexins.     

Application of the intramolecular vinylogous Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction toward the synthesis of the spinosyn A tricyclic nucleus

[reaction: see text] A concise synthesis of the spinosyn A tricyclic nucleus 27 has been developed by a route featuring a one-pot tandem intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction and intramolecular vinylogous Morita-Baylis-Hillman cyclization in which five stereocenters in tricycle 10 are set with excellent selectivity.     

Concerted, highly asynchronous, enzyme-catalyzed [4 + 2] cycloaddition in the biosynthesis of spinosyn A; computational evidence

A theoretical study has been carried out on model systems to study a recently reported, (Nature, 2011, 473, 109) biosynthetic, [4 + 2] cycloaddition catalyzed by a stand-alone enzyme (the cyclase SpnF). It was suggested in this paper that SpnF is the first known example of a Diels-Alderase (DA). In the present study, for a model system of the substrate a transition structure was found with density functional calculations (DFT). In addition, the intrinsic reaction coordinate calculations indicated that the transition structure is that of a concerted, but highly asynchronous, DA reaction. Based on the DFT and M?ller-Plesset second order calculations the activation energy was estimated to be about 15 kcal mol(-1). The results of a natural population analysis indicated that there is significant charge transfer in the transition state, and it is proposed that possibly the enzyme plays a dual role of not only folding the substrate into the proper conformation for the DA reaction to occur, but also lowering its activation energy by stabilization of the highly polarized transition structure.     

The synthesis of precursor of FP- (+) DTBZ

A synthetic route to the precursor of FP- (+) DTBZ was disclosed, in which 3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde was employed as a starting material. In the method, the benzyl-protecting protocol and the in-situ Diels-Alder reaction made the procedure more practical because of the mild conditions for selectively deprotection and the accelerated reaction process.     

甲胺-丝光沸石的合成及其鉴定

作者研究在不同反应混合物系统中ZSM-5沸石的自发结晶作用与非自发结晶作用时发现,含甲胺的系统比含其他有机碱的系统更容易生成丝光沸石。通过对甲胺-Na_2O-SiO_2-Al_2O_3-H_2O反应混合物系统的自发结晶的进一步研究,作出了配比-产物组成图。结果表明,在甲胺系统中,含氮的丝光沸石,即甲胺-丝光沸石(MA-Md),能在相当宽的配比范围内生成。MA-Md虽然与丝光沸石(NaM)骨架结构相同,但它的阳离子中约有一半系甲胺离子。它的某些性质也不同于NaM,例如:硅铝比提高;晶格收