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The biosynthesis of penicillin and cephalosporin antibiotics in microorganisms requires the formation of the bicyclic nucleus of penicillin. Isopenicillin N synthase (IPNS), a non-haem iron-dependent oxidase, catalyses the reaction of a tripeptide, delta-(L-alpha-aminoadipoyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine (ACV), and dioxygen to form isopenicillin N and two water molecules. Mechanistic studies suggest the reaction is initiated by ligation of the substrate thiolate to the iron centre, and proceeds through an enzyme-bound monocyclic intermediate. Here we report the crystal structure of IPNS complexed to ferrous iron and ACV, determined to 1.3 A resolution. Based on the structure, we propose a mechanism for penicillin formation that involves ligation of ACV to the iron centre, creating a vacant iron coordination site into which dioxygen can bind. Subsequently, iron-dioxygen and iron-oxo species remove the requisite hydrogens from ACV without the direct assistance of protein residues. The crystal structure of the complex with the dioxygen analogue, NO and ACV bound to the active-site iron supports this hypothesis.

Penicillin antibiotics are all produced from fermentation-derived penicillins because their chemical synthesis is not commercially viable. The key step in penicillin biosynthesis, in which both the beta-lactam and thiazolidine rings of the nucleus are created, is mediated by isopenicillin N synthase (IPNS), which binds ferrous iron and uses dioxygen as a cosubstrate. In a unique enzymatic step, with no chemical precedent, IPNS catalyses the transfer of four hydrogen atoms from its tripeptide substrate to dioxygen forming, in a single reaction, the complete bicyclic nucleus of the penicillins. We now report the structure of IPNS complexed with manganese, which reveals the active site is unusually buried within a 'jelly-roll' motif and lined by hydrophobic residues, and suggest how this structure permits the process of penicillin formation. Sequence analyses indicate IPNS, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase and many of the 2-oxo-acid-dependent oxygenases contain a conserved jelly-roll motif, forming a new structural family of enzymes.

Penicillins and cephalosporins are among the most widely used therapeutic agents. These antibiotics are produced from fermentation-derived materials as their chemical synthesis is not commercially viable. Unconventional steps in their biosynthesis are catalysed by Fe(II)-dependent oxidases/oxygenases; isopenicillin N synthase (IPNS) creates in one step the bicyclic nucleus of penicillins, and deacetoxycephalosporin C synthase (DAOCS) catalyses the expansion of the penicillin nucleus into the nucleus of cephalosporins. Both enzymes use dioxygen-derived ferryl intermediates in catalysis but, in contrast to IPNS, the ferryl form of DAOCS is produced by the oxidative splitting of a co-substrate, 2-oxoglutarate (alpha-ketoglutarate). This route of controlled ferryl formation and reaction is common to many mononuclear ferrous enzymes, which participate in a broader range of reactions than their well-characterized counterparts, the haem enzymes. Here we report the first crystal structure of a 2-oxoacid-dependent oxygenase. High-resolution structures for apo-DAOCS, the enzyme complexed with Fe(II), and with Fe(II) and 2-oxoglutarate, were obtained from merohedrally twinned crystals. Using a model based on these structures, we propose a mechanism for ferryl formation.

Taurine/alpha-ketoglutarate dioxygenase (TauD), a non-heme Fe(II) oxygenase, catalyses the conversion of taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonate) to sulfite and aminoacetaldehyde concurrent with the conversion of alpha-ketoglutarate (alphaKG) to succinate and CO(2). The enzyme allows Escherichia coli to use taurine, widely available in the environment, as an alternative sulfur source. Here we describe the X-ray crystal structure of TauD complexed to Fe(II) and both substrates, alphaKG and taurine. The tertiary structure and fold of TauD are similar to those observed in other enzymes from the broad family of Fe(II)/alphaKG-dependent oxygenases, with closest structural similarity to clavaminate synthase. Using the TauD coordinates, a model was determined for the closely related enzyme 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate/alphaKG dioxygenase (TfdA), supporting predictions derived from site-directed mutagenesis and other studies of that biodegradative protein. The TauD structure and TfdA model define the metal ligands and the positions of nearby aromatic residues that undergo post-translational modifications involving self-hydroxylation reactions. The substrate binding residues of TauD were identified and those of TfdA predicted. These results, along with sequence alignment information, reveal how TauD selects a tetrahedral substrate anion in preference to the planar carboxylate selected by TfdA, providing insight into the mechanism of enzyme catalysis.

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CsF and CuI do the trick: Stille coupling reactions of aryl/vinyl iodides, triflates, and bromides with aryl/vinyl stannanes are greatly enhanced by the inclusion of CsF and CuI in the reaction mixture (see scheme; Conditions A: [Pd(PPh3)4]/CsF/CuI/DMF/45 °C; Conditions B: PdCl2/PtBu3/CsF/CuI/DMF/45 °C).

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