Molecular genetic mining of the Aspergillus secondary metabolome: discovery of the emericellamide biosynthetic pathway

The recently sequenced genomes of several Aspergillus species have revealed that these organisms have the potential to produce a surprisingly large range of natural products, many of which are currently unknown. We have found that A. nidulans produces emericellamide A, an antibiotic compound of mixed origins with polyketide and amino acid building blocks. Additionally, we describe the discovery of four previously unidentified, related compounds that we designate emericellamide C-F. Using recently developed gene targeting techniques, we have identified the genes involved in emericellamide biosynthesis. The emericellamide gene cluster contains one polyketide synthase and one nonribosomal peptide synthetase. From the sequences of the genes, we are able to deduce a biosynthetic pathway for the emericellamides. The identification of this biosynthetic pathway opens the door to engineering novel analogs of this structurally complex metabolite.     

Conversion of Polyethylenes into Fungal Secondary Metabolites

Waste plastics represent major environmental and economic burdens due to their ubiquity, slow breakdown rates, and inadequacy of current recycling routes. Polyethylenes are particularly problematic, because they lack robust recycling approaches despite being the most abundant plastics in use today. We report a novel chemical and biological approach for the rapid conversion of polyethylenes into structurally complex and pharmacologically active compounds. We present conditions for aerobic, catalytic digestion of polyethylenes collected from post-consumer and oceanic waste streams, creating carboxylic diacids that can then be used as a carbon source by the fungus Aspergillus nidulans. As a proof of principle, we have engineered strains of A. nidulans to synthesize the fungal secondary metabolites asperbenzaldehyde, citreoviridin, and mutilin when grown on these digestion products. This hybrid approach considerably expands the range of products to which polyethylenes can be upcycled.     

Water desorption from an oxygen covered Pt(111) surface: multichannel desorption

Mixed OH/H2O structures, formed by the reaction of O and water on Pt(111), decompose near 200 K as water desorbs. With an apparent activation barrier that varies between 0.42 and 0.86 eV depending on the composition, coverage, and heating rate of the film, water desorption does not follow a simple kinetic form. The adsorbate is stabilized by the formation of a complete hydrogen bonding network between equivalent amounts of OH and H2O, island edges, and defects in the structure enhancing the decomposition rate. Monte Carlo simulations of water desorption were made using a model potential fitted to first-principles calculations. We find that desorption occurs via several distinct pathways, including direct or proton-transfer mediated desorption and OH recombination. Hence, no single rate determining step has been found. Desorption occurs preferentially from low coordination defect or edge sites, leading to complex kinetics which are sensitive to both the temperature, composition, and history of the sample.     

Spongipyran synthetic studies. Evolution of a scalable total synthesis of (+)-spongistatin 1

Three syntheses of the architecturally complex, cytotoxic marine macrolide (+)-spongistatin 1 (1) are reported. Highlights of the first-generation synthesis include: use of a dithiane multicomponent linchpin coupling tactic for construction of the AB and CD spiroketals, and their union via a highly selective Evans boron-mediated aldol reaction en route to an ABCD aldehyde; introduction of the C(44)-C(51) side chain via a Lewis acid-mediated ring opening of a glucal epoxide with an allylstannane to assemble the EF subunit; and final fragment union via Wittig coupling of the ABCD and EF subunits to form the C(28)-C(29) olefin, followed by regioselective Yamaguchi macrolactonization and global deprotection. The second- and third-generation syntheses, designed with the goal of accessing 1 g of (+)-spongistatin 1 (1), maintain both the first-generation strategy for the ABCD aldehyde and final fragment union, while incorporating two more efficient approaches for construction of the EF Wittig salt. The latter combine the original chelation-controlled dithiane union of the E- and F-ring progenitors with application of a highly efficient cyanohydrin alkylation to append the F-ring side chain, in conjunction with two independent tactics to access the F-ring pyran. The first F-ring synthesis showcases a Petasis-Ferrier union/rearrangement protocol to access tetrahydropyrans, permitting the preparation of 750 mg of the EF Wittig salt, which in turn was converted to 80 mg of (+)-spongistatin 1, while the second F-ring strategy, incorporates an organocatalytic aldol reaction as the key construct, permitting completion of 1.009 g of totally synthetic (+)-spongistatin 1 (1). A brief analysis of the three syntheses alongside our earlier synthesis of (+)-spongistatin 2 is also presented.     

NAD(P)H‐Independent Asymmetric CC Bond Reduction Catalyzed by Ene Reductases by Using Artificial Co‐substrates as the Hydrogen Donor

To develop a nicotinamide‐independent single flavoenzyme system for the asymmetric bioreduction of C?C bonds, four types of hydrogen donor, encompassing more than 50 candidates, were investigated. Six highly potent, cheap, and commercially available co‐substrates were identified that (under the optimized conditions) resulted in conversions and enantioselectivities comparable with, or even superior to, those obtained with traditional two‐enzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAD(P)H)‐recycling systems.     

Fast and accurate determination of K, Ca, and Mg in human serum by sector field ICP-MS

Electrolytes in serum are important biomarkers for skeletal and cellular health. The levels of electrolytes are monitored by measuring the Ca, Mg, K, and Na in blood serum. Many reference methods have been developed for the determination of Ca, Mg, and K in clinical measurements; however, isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) has traditionally been the primary reference method serving as an anchor for traceability and accuracy to these secondary reference methods. The sample matrix must be separated before ID-TIMS measurements, which is a slow and tedious process that hindered the adoption of the technique in routine clinical measurements. We have developed a fast and accurate method for the determination of Ca, Mg, and K in serum by taking advantage of the higher mass resolution capability of the modern sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SF-ICP-MS). Each serum sample was spiked with a mixture containing enriched ⁴⁴Ca, ²⁶Mg, and ⁴¹K, and the ⁴²Ca⁺:⁴⁴Ca⁺, ²⁴Mg⁺:²⁶Mg⁺, and ³⁹K⁺:⁴¹K⁺ ratios were measured. The Ca and Mg ratios were measured in medium resolution mode (m/Δm?≈?4 500), and the K ratio in high resolution mode (m/Δm?≈?10 000). Residual ⁴⁰Ar¹H⁺ interference was still observed but the deleterious effects of the interference were minimized by measuring the sample at K?>?100 ng g^?1. The interferences of Sr⁺⁺ at the two Ca isotopes were less than 0.25 % of the analyte signal, and they were corrected with the ⁸⁸Sr⁺ intensity by using the Sr⁺⁺:Sr⁺ ratio. The sample preparation involved only simple dilutions, and the measurement using this sample preparation approach is known as dilution-and-shoot (DNS). The DNS approach was validated with samples prepared via the traditional acid digestion approach followed by ID-SF-ICP-MS measurement. DNS and digested samples of SRM 956c were measured with ID-SF-ICP-MS for quality assurance, and the results (mean ± expanded uncertainty in mg dL^?1 unit) for Ca (DNS?=?10.14?±?0.13, digested?=?10.11?±?0.10), Mg (DNS?=?2.093?±?0.008, digested?=?2.098?±?0.007), and K (DNS?=?15.48?±?0.11, digested?=?15.50?±?0.28) were in good agreement with the certified values (Ca?=?10.17?±?0.06, Mg?=?2.084?±?0.023, K?=?15.55?±?0.13). Major sources of uncertainty are sample measurement, spike calibration, and instrument factor including mass discrimination of the spectrometer and the detector deadtime.