The antibiotic kijanimicin produced by the actinomycete Actinomadura kijaniata has a broad spectrum of bioactivities as well as a number of interesting biosynthetic features. To understand the molecular basis for its formation and to develop a combinatorial biosynthetic system for this class of compounds, a 107.6 kb segment of the Actinomadura kijaniata chromosome containing the kijanimicin biosynthetic locus was identified, cloned, and sequenced. The complete pathway for the formation of TDP-L-digitoxose, one of the two sugar donors used in construction of kijanimicin, was elucidated through biochemical analysis of four enzymes encoded in the gene cluster. Sequence analysis indicates that the aglycone kijanolide is formed by the combined action of a modular Type-I polyketide synthase (PKS) and a conserved operon involved attachment and intramolecular cyclization of a glycerate-derived three-carbon unit, which forms the core of the spirotetronate moiety. The genes involved in the biosynthesis of the unusual deoxysugar D-kijanose [2,3,4,6-tetradeoxy-4-(methylcarbamyl)-3-C-methyl-3-nitro-D-xylo-hexopyranose], including one encoding a flavoenzyme predicted to catalyze the formation of the nitro group, have also been identified. This work has implications for the biosynthesis of other spirotetronate antibiotics and nitro sugar-bearing natural products, as well as for future mechanistic and biosynthetic engineering efforts.Kijanimicin (1) is a spirotetronate antibiotic isolated from Actinomadura kijaniata, a soil actinomycete. It has a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, anaerobes, and the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, 1 and also shows antitumor activity. 2 The structure of kijanimicin (1) consists of a pentacyclic core, which is equipped with four L-digitoxose (2) units and a rare nitro sugar, 2,3,4,6-tetradeoxy-4-(methylcarbamyl)-3-C-methyl-3-nitro-D-xylo-hexopyranose, commonly known as D-kijanose (3). More than sixty kijanimicin-related spirotetronate-type compounds have been reported. Most are made by strains of high-GC Gram positive bacteria (Actinomycetes), including Streptomyces, 3-8 Micromonospora, 9-12 Actinomadura, 1,13,14 Saccharothrix, 15 and Verrucosispora. 16 A species of Bacillus has also been identified as a producer of a member of this class of compounds. 17 Nearly all members of this class exhibit both antibacterial and antitumor activities, and many possess other biological activities. Well-known examples include chlorothricins (4), the anticholesterolemic agents; 18,19 tetronothiodin, a cholecystokinin B (CCK-B) inhibitor; 4 MM46115, an antiviral drug effective against parainfluenzae virus 1 and 2; 13 and tetrocarcins (5) and arisostatins, both of which have been shown to have therapeutic potential as inducers of apoptosis. 20-23 In a recent study, a collection of tetrocarcin analogues was prepared synthetically and some of them showed improved apoptosis-inducing activity. 24 Hence, compounds of this class have broad therapeutic potential wort...
Fredericamycin (FDM) A, a pentadecaketide featuring two sets of peri-hydroxy tricyclic aromatic moieties connected through a unique chiral spiro carbon center, exhibits potent cytotoxicity and has been studied as a new type of anticancer drug lead because of its novel molecular architecture. The fdm gene cluster was localized to 33-kb DNA segment of Streptomyces griseus ATCC 49344, and its involvement in FDM A biosynthesis was proven by gene inactivation, complementation, and heterologous expression experiments. The fdm cluster consists of 28 open reading frames (ORFs), encoding a type II polyketide synthase (PKS) and tailoring enzymes as well as several regulatory and resistance proteins. The FDM PKS features a KSalpha subunit with heretofore unseen tandem cysteines at its active site, a KSbeta subunit that is distinct phylogenetically from KSbeta of hexa-, octa-, or decaketide PKSs, and a dedicated phosphopantetheinyl transferase. Further study of the FDM PKS could provide new insight into how a type II PKS controls chain length in aromatic polyketide biosynthesis. The availability of the fdm genes, in vivo characterization of the fdm cluster in S. griseus, and heterologous expression of the fdm cluster in Streptomyces albus set the stage to investigate FDM A biosynthesis and engineer the FDM biosynthetic machinery for the production of novel FDM A analogues.
Monascus spp. produce several well-known polyketides such as monacolin K, citrinin, and azaphilone pigments. In this study, the azaphilone pigment biosynthetic gene cluster was identified through T-DNA random mutagenesis in Monascus purpureus. The albino mutant W13 bears a T-DNA insertion upstream of a transcriptional regulator gene (mppR1). The transcription of mppR1 and the nearby polyketide synthase gene (MpPKS5) was significantly repressed in the W13 mutant. Targeted inactivation of MpPKS5 also gave rise to an albino mutant, confirming that mppR1 and MpPKS5 belong to an azaphilone pigment biosynthetic gene cluster. This M. purpureus sequence was used to identify the whole biosynthetic gene cluster in the Monascus pilosus genome. MpPKS5 contains SAT/KS/AT/PT/ACP/MT/R domains, and this domain organization is preserved in other azaphilone polyketide synthases. This biosynthetic gene cluster also encodes fatty acid synthase (FAS), which is predicted to assist the synthesis of 3-oxooactanoyl-CoA and 3-oxodecanoyl-CoA. These 3-oxoacyl compounds are proposed to be incorporated into the azaphilone backbone to complete the pigment biosynthesis. A monooxygenase gene (an azaH and tropB homolog) that is located far downstream of the FAS gene is proposed to be involved in pyrone ring formation. A homology search on other fungal genome sequences suggests that this azaphilone pigment gene cluster also exists in the Penicillium marneffei and Talaromyces stipitatus genomes.
Coordination of oxidoreductive modifications in controlling ring cyclization pattern in azaphilone biosynthesis.
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