Hapalindoles are bioactive indole alkaloids with fascinating polycyclic ring systems whose biosynthetic assembly mechanism has remained unknown since their initial discovery in the 1980s. In this study, we describe the fam gene cluster from the cyanobacterium Fischerella ambigua UTEX 1903 encoding hapalindole and ambiguine biosynthesis along with the characterization of two aromatic prenyltransferases, FamD1 and FamD2, and a previously undescribed cyclase, FamC1. These studies demonstrate that FamD2 and FamC1 act in concert to form the tetracyclic core ring system of the hapalindoles from cis-indole isonitrile and geranyl pyrophosphate through a presumed biosynthetic Cope rearrangement and subsequent 6-exo-trig cyclization/electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction.

The dimeric diketopiperazine (DKPs) alkaloids are a diverse family of natural products (NPs) whose unique structural architectures and biological activities have inspired the development of new synthetic methodology to access these molecules. However, catalystcontrolled methods that enable the selective formation of constitutional and stereoisomeric dimers from a single monomer are lacking. To resolve this long-standing synthetic challenge, we sought to characterize the biosynthetic enzymes that assemble these NPs for application in biocatalytic syntheses. Genome mining enabled identification of the cytochrome P450, NzeB (derived from Streptomyces sp. NRRL F-5053), which catalyzes both intermolecular carbon-carbon (C-C) and carbon-nitrogen (C-N) bond formation, generating all currently known DKP dimer scaffolds isolated from bacterial sources. To identify the molecular basis for the flexible site-, stereo-, and chemoselectivity of NzeB, we obtained high-resolution crystal structures (1.5Å) of the protein in complex with native and non-native substrates. This, to our knowledge, represents the first crystal structure of an oxidase catalyzing direct, intermolecular C-H amination. Site-directed mutagenesis was employed to assess the role individual active site residues play in guiding selective DKP dimerization. Finally, computational approaches were employed to evaluate plausible mechanisms regarding NzeB function and its ability to catalyze both CC and C-N bond formation. These results provide a structural and computational rationale for the catalytic versatility of NzeB, as well as new insights into variables that control selectivity of CYP450 diketopiperazine dimerases. ASSOCIATED CONTENT Supporting Information The Supporting Information is available free of charge on the ACS Publications website.

During DNA synthesis, most DNA polymerases and reverse transcriptases select against ribonucleotides via a steric clash between the ribose 2′-hydroxyl group and the bulky side chain of an active site residue. Here, we demonstrated that human DNA polymerase λ used a novel sugar selection mechanism to discriminate against ribonucleotides, whereby the ribose 2′-hydroxyl group was excluded mostly by a backbone segment and slightly by the side chain of Y505. Such a steric clash was further demonstrated to be dependent on the size and orientation of the substituent covalently attached at the ribonucleotide C2′ position.

Fungal bicyclo[2.2.2]diazaoctane indole alkaloids represent an important family of natural products with a wide-spectrum of biological activities. Although biomimetic total syntheses have been completed for representative compounds, the details of their biogenesis, especially the mechanisms for assembly of diastereomerically distinct and enantiomerically antipodal metabolites, have remained largely uncharacterized. Brevianamide A represents the most basic form of the sub-family bearing a dioxopiperazine core and a rare 3-spiro-ψ-indoxyl skeleton. Here, we identified the Brevianamide A biosynthetic gene cluster from Penicillium brevicompactum NRRL 864 and fully elucidated the metabolic pathway by gene disruption, heterologous expression, precursor incorporation experiments, and in vitro biochemical analysis. In particular, we determined BvnE as a cofactor-independent isomerase/pinacolase that is essential for selective production of Brevianamide A. Structural elucidation, molecular modeling, and mutational analysis of BvnE, and quantum chemical calculations provided critical mechanistic insights into the diastereoselective formation of the 3-spiro-ψ-indoxyl moiety in Brevianamide A. This occurs through a BvnE-controlled semi-pinacol rearrangement and a subsequent spontaneous intramolecular [4+2] hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition. Resolution of this 50-year old mechanistic mystery together with our recent characterization of the Diels-Alderase-mediated biogenesis of monooxopiperazines highlight the diversified biosynthetic strategies deployed by fungi for creating structurally diverse spiro-cyclized indole alkaloids.Fungal indole alkaloids bearing the unusual bicyclo[2.2.2]diazaoctane core have drawn considerable attention from natural product, synthetic and biological chemists for decades. A wealth of studies on the discovery of analogs (including semi-synthetic, synthetic and natural), biological activities and biosynthetic mechanisms have been

Siderophores are high-affinity iron chelators produced by microorganisms and frequently contribute to the virulence of human pathogens. Targeted inhibition of the biosynthesis of siderophores staphyloferrin B of Staphylococcus aureus and petrobactin of Bacillus anthracis hold considerable potential as a single or combined treatment for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and anthrax infection, respectively. The biosynthetic pathways for both siderophores involve a nonribosomal peptide synthetase independent siderophore (NIS) synthetase, including SbnE in staphyloferrin B and AsbA in petrobactin. In this study, we developed a biochemical assay specific for NIS synthetases to screen for inhibitors of SbnE and AsbA against a library of marine microbial-derived natural product extracts (NPEs). Analysis of the NPE derived from Streptomyces tempisquensis led to the isolation of the novel antibiotics baulamycins A (BmcA, 6) and B (BmcB, 7). BmcA and BmcB displayed in vitro activity with IC50 values of 4.8 µM and 19 µM against SbnE and 180 µM and 200 µM against AsbA, respectively. Kinetic analysis showed that the compounds function as reversible competitive enzyme inhibitors. Liquid culture studies with S. aureus, B. anthracis, E. coli and several other bacterial pathogens demonstrated the capacity of these natural products to penetrate bacterial barriers and inhibit growth of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative species. These studies provide proof-of-concept that natural product inhibitors targeting siderophore virulence factors can provide access to novel broad-spectrum antibiotics, which may serve as important leads for the development of potent anti-infective agents