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Genomic DNA from the insect pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana was used as a template in a PCR with degenerate primers designed to amplify a fragment of a C-methyl transferase (CMeT) domain from a highly reduced fungal polyketide synthase (PKS). The resulting 270-bp PCR product was homologous to other fungal PKS CMeT domains and was used as a probe to isolate a 7.3-kb fragment of genomic DNA from a BamH1 library. Further library probing and TAIL-PCR then gave a 21.9-kb contig that encoded a 12.9-kb fused type I PKS-NRPS ORF together with ORFs encoding other oxidative and reductive enzymes. A directed knockout experiment with a BaR cassette, reported for the first time in B. bassiana, identified the PKS-NRPS as being involved in the biosynthesis of the 2-pyridone tenellin. Other fungal PKS-NRPS genes are known to be involved in the formation of tetramic acids in fungi, and it thus appears likely that related compounds are precursors of 2-pyridones in fungi. B. bassiana tenellin KO and WT strains proved to be equally pathogenic towards insect larvae; this indicated that tenellin is not involved in insect pathogenesis.

Bifunctional alcohol/aldehyde dehydrogenase (ADHE) enzymes are found within many fermentative microorganisms. They catalyse the conversion of an acyl-coenzyme A to an alcohol via an aldehyde intermediate; this is coupled to the oxidation of two NADH molecules to maintain the NAD(+) pool during fermentative metabolism. The structure of the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) domain of an ADHE protein from the ethanol-producing thermophile Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius has been determined to 2.5 Å resolution. This is the first structure to be reported for such a domain. In silico modelling has been carried out to generate a homology model of the aldehyde dehydrogenase domain, and this was subsequently docked with the ADH-domain structure to model the structure of the complete ADHE protein. This model suggests, for the first time, a structural mechanism for the formation of the large multimeric assemblies or `spirosomes' that are observed for this ADHE protein and which have previously been reported for ADHEs from other organisms.

Other natural products U 0800 Biosynthesis of the 2-Pyridone Tenellin (I) in the Insect Pathogenic Fungus Beauveria bassiana. -(ELEY, K. L.; HALO, L. M.; SONG, Z.; POWLES, H.; COX*, R. J.; BAILEY, A. M.; LAZARUS, C. M.; SIMPSON, T. J.; ChemBioChem 8 (2007) 3, 289-297; Sch. Chem., Univ. Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK; Eng.) -Mischke 25-198

The non-heme-iron(II)-dependent extradiol catechol dioxygenases catalyse the oxidative cleavage of substituted catechols found on bacterial aromatic degradation pathways. The reaction mechanism of the extradiol dioxygenases is believed to proceed through the same proximal hydroperoxide intermediate as the iron(III)-dependent intradiol catechol dioxygenases. Directed evolution was carried out on members of the class III extradiol catechol dioxygenases, by using 1) error-prone polymerase chain reaction, 2) a primer-based cross-over method; the mutant dioxygenases were then screened for their ability to process a range of substituted catechols. Several mutant enzymes were found to show higher activity towards certain substituted catechols, including 4-chlorocatechol, and higher affinity for the iron(II) cofactor. Two mutants isolated from error-prone PCR of Escherichia coli MhpB (mutants R215W and K273R) were found to produce a mixture of extradiol and intradiol cleavage products, as detected by GC-MS and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The residue corresponding to K273 in protocatechuate 4,5-dioxygenase (LigAB), Val244, is located approximately 12 A from the iron(II) centre, but close to the putative dioxygen channel; R215 is found on a sequence loop not present in LigB.

bThe pheB gene from Geobacillus stearothermophilus DSM6285 has been exploited as a reporter gene for Geobacillus spp. The gene product, catechol 2,3-dioxygenase (C23O), catalyzes the formation of 2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde, which can be readily assayed. The reporter was used to examine expression from the ldh promoter associated with fermentative metabolism.

This study reports the expression, purification and kinetic characterization of a PDC from Gluconobacter oxydans. Kinetic analyses showed the enzyme to have high affinity for pyruvate (120µM at pH 5), high catalytic efficiency (4.75 x 10 5 M -1 s -1 at pH 5), a pH opt of approximately 4.5 and an in vitro temperature optimum at approximately 55°C (the highest yet reported for a b a c t e r i a l P D C ) . D u e t o g o o d in vitro thermostablity (approximately 40% enzyme activity retained after 30 minutes at 65°C) this PDC was considered to be a suitable candidate for heterologous expression in the thermophile Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius. Initial studies using a variety of methods failed to detect activity at any growth temperature. However, the application of codon harmonization (i.e., mimicry of the heterogeneous host's transcription and translational rhythm) yielded a protein that was fully functional in the thermophilic strain at 45°C (as determined by enzyme activity, Western blot, mRNA detection and ethanol productivity). Here we describe the successful expression of PDC in a true thermophile. Yields as high as 0.35 g/g ±0.04 ethanol per gram of glucose consumed were detected, highly competitive to those reported in ethanologenic thermophilic mutants. Although activities could not be detected at temperatures approaching the growth optimum for the strain, this study highlights that the possibility that previously unsuccessful expression of pdcs in Geobacillus spp. may be the result of ineffective transcription / translation coupling.