The first general, highly enantioselective hydrosilylation of benzoxazinones and quinoxalinones has been developed. The chiral Lewis base organocatalysts that are readily accessible from (1S,2R)‐ephedrine and (1R,2S)‐ephedrine promoted the title reaction to afford various chiral dihydrobenzoxazinones and dihydroquinoxalinones with good yields as well as good enantioselectivities.

Plant 4-coumarate:CoA ligase (4CL) serves as a central catalyst in the phenylpropanoid pathway that provides precursors for numerous metabolites and regulates carbon flow. Here, we present several high-resolution crystal structures of Nicotiana tabacum 4CL isoform 2 (Nt4CL2) in complex with Mg(2+) and ATP, with AMP and coenzyme A (CoA), and with three different hydroxycinnamate-AMP intermediates: 4-coumaroyl-AMP, caffeoyl-AMP, and feruloyl-AMP. The Nt4CL2-Mg(2+)-ATP structure is captured in the adenylate-forming conformation, whereas the other structures are in the thioester-forming conformation. These structures represent a rare example of an ANL enzyme visualized in both conformations, and also reveal the binding determinants for both CoA and the hydroxycinnamate substrate. Kinetic studies of structure-based variants were used to identify residues crucial to catalysis, ATP binding, and hydroxycinnamate specificity. Lastly, we characterize a deletion mutant of Nt4CL2 that possesses the unusual sinapinate-utilizing activity. These studies establish a molecular framework for the engineering of this versatile biocatalyst.

Background: Bis-(3Ј-5Ј)-cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) binding to PelD is required for pellicle formation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results: The crystal structures of a cytosolic fragment of PelD show the binding mode of c-di-GMP. Conclusion: PelD has a degenerate active site but binds c-di-GMP through a conserved allosteric site. Significance: PelD represents a novel c-di-GMP effector that has not been structurally characterized before.

The lipoglycopeptide antibiotic teicoplanin has proven efficacy against gram-positive pathogens. Teicoplanin is distinguished from the vancomycin-type glycopeptide antibiotics, by the presence of an additional cross-link between the aromatic amino acids 1 and 3 that is catalyzed by the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase Orf6* (CYP165D3). As a goal towards understanding the mechanism of this phenol-coupling reaction, we have characterized recombinant Orf6* and determined its crystal structure to 2.2 Å resolution. Although the structure of Orf6* reveals the core fold common to other P450 monooxygenases, there are subtle differences in the disposition of secondary structure elements near the active site cavity necessary to accommodate its complex heptapeptide substrate. Specifically, the orientation of the F and G helices in Orf6* results in a more closed active site than found in the vancomycin oxidative enzymes OxyB and OxyC. In addition, Met226 in the I helix replaces the more typical Gly/Ala residue that is positioned above the heme porphyrin ring, where it forms a hydrogen bond with a heme iron-bound water molecule. Sequence comparisons with other phenol-coupling P450 monooxygenases suggest that Met226 plays a role in determining the substrate regiospecificity of Orf6*. These features provide further insights into the mechanism of the cross-linking mechanisms that occur during glycopeptide antibiotics biosynthesis.

We report here the enzymatic biosynthesis of FR-900098 analogues and establish an in vivo platform for the biosynthesis of N-propionyl derivative FR-900098P. FR-900098P is found to be a significantly more potent inhibitor of Plasmodium falciparum 1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase (PfDxr) than the parent compound, and thus a more promising antimalarial drug candidate.