A large number of halogenated compounds is produced by chemical synthesis. Some of these compounds are very toxic and cause enormous problems to human health and to the environment. Investigations on ...the degradation of halocompounds by microorganisms have led to the detection of various dehalogenating enzymes catalyzing the removal of halogen atoms under aerobic and anaerobic conditions involving different mechanisms. On the other hand, more than 3500 halocompounds are known to be produced biologically, some of them in great amounts. Until 1997, only haloperoxidases were thought to be responsible for incorporation of halogen atoms into organic compounds. However, recent investigations into the biosynthesis of halogenated metabolites by bacteria have shown that a novel type of halogenating enzymes, FADH
2-dependent halogenases, are involved in biosyntheses of halogenated metabolites. In every gene cluster coding for the biosynthesis of a halogenated metabolite, isolated so far, one or several genes for FADH
2-dependent halogenases have been identified.
The positive-strangeness baryon resonance Θ+ is observed in photoproduction of the nK+K0s final state with the SAPHIR detector at the Bonn ELectron Stretcher Accelerator ELSA. It is seen as a peak in ...the nK+ invariant mass distribution with a 4.8σ confidence level. We find a mass MΘ+=1540±4±2 MeV and an upper limit of the width ΓΘ+<25 MeV at 90% c.l. The photoproduction cross section for K0Θ+ is in the order of 300 nb. From the absence of a signal in the pK+ invariant mass distribution in γp→pK+K− at the expected strength we conclude that the Θ+ must be isoscalar.
The regioselectively controlled introduction of chlorine into organic molecules is an important biological and chemical process. This importance derives from the observation that many ...pharmaceutically active natural products contain a chlorine atom. Flavin-dependent halogenases are one of the principal enzyme families responsible for regioselective halogenation of natural products. Structural studies of two flavin-dependent tryptophan 7-halogenases (PrnA and RebH) have generated important insights into the chemical mechanism of halogenation by this enzyme family. These proteins comprise two modules: a flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-binding module and a tryptophan-binding module. Although the 7-halogenase studies advance a hypothesis for regioselectivity, this has never been experimentally demonstrated. PyrH is a tryptophan 5-halogenase that catalyzes halogenation on tryptophan C5 position. We report the crystal structure of a tryptophan 5-halogenase (PyrH) bound to tryptophan and FAD. The FAD-binding module is essentially unchanged relative to PrnA (and RebH), and PyrH would appear to generate the same reactive species from Cl
−, O
2, and 1,5-dihydroflavin adenine dinucleotide. We report additional mutagenesis data that extend our mechanistic understanding of this process, in particular highlighting a strap region that regulates FAD binding, and may allow communication between the two modules. PyrH has a significantly different tryptophan-binding module. The data show that PyrH binds tryptophan and presents the C5 atom to the reactive chlorinating species, shielding other potential reactive sites. We have mutated residues identified by structural analysis as recognizing the tryptophan in order to confirm their role. This work establishes the method by which flavin-dependent tryptophan halogenases regioselectively control chlorine addition to tryptophan. This method would seem to be general across the superfamily.
The application of flavin-dependent halogenases is hampered by their lack of stability under reaction conditions. However, first attempts to improve halogenase stability by error-prone PCR have ...resulted in mutants with higher temperature stability. To facilitate the screening for mutants with higher activity, a high-throughput assay was developed. Formation of cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) of halogenases has increased halogenase lifetime by a factor of about 10, and CLEAs have been used to produce halogenated tryptophan in gram scale. Analyses of the substrate specificity of tryptophan halogenases have shown that they accept a much broader range of substrates than previously thought. The introduction of tryptophan halogenase genes into bacteria and plants led to the in vivo formation of peptides containing halogenated tryptophan or novel tryptophan-derived alkaloids, respectively. The halogen atoms in these compounds could be chemically exchanged against other substituents by cross-coupling reactions leading to novel compounds. Site-directed mutageneses have been used to modify the substrate specificity and the regioselectivity of flavin-dependent tryptophan halogenases. Since many flavin-dependent halogenases only accept protein-bound substrates, enzymatic and chemoenzymatic syntheses for protein-tethered substrates were developed, and the synthesized substrates were used in enzymatic halogenation reactions.
Chlorinated natural products include vancomycin and cryptophycin A. Their biosynthesis involves regioselective chlorination by flavin-dependent halogenases. We report the structural characterization ...of tryptophan 7-halogenase (PrnA), which regioselectively chlorinates tryptophan. Tryptophan and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) are separated by a 10 angstrom-long tunnel and bound by distinct enzyme modules. The FAD module is conserved in halogenases and is related to flavin-dependent monooxygenases. On the basis of biochemical studies, crystal structures, and by analogy with monooxygenases, we predict that FADH₂ reacts with O₂ to make peroxyflavin, which is decomposed by Cl⁻. The resulting HOCl is guided through the tunnel to tryptophan, where it is activated to participate in electrophilic aromatic substitution.
Pyrrolnitrin (3-chloro-4-(2′-nitro-3′-chlorophenyl)pyrrole) is a broad-spectrum antifungal compound isolated from Pseudomonas pyrrocinia. Four enzymes (PrnA, PrnB, PrnC, and PrnD) are required for ...pyrrolnitrin biosynthesis from tryptophan. PrnB rearranges the indole ring of 7-Cl-l-tryptophan and eliminates the carboxylate group. PrnB shows robust activity in vivo, but in vitro activity for PrnB under defined conditions remains undetected. The structure of PrnB establishes that the enzyme belongs to the heme b-dependent indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) family. We report the cyanide complex of PrnB and two ternary complexes with both l-tryptophan or 7-Cl-l-tryptophan and cyanide. The latter two complexes are essentially identical and mimic the likely catalytic ternary complex that occurs during turnover. In the cyanide ternary complexes, a loop previously disordered becomes ordered, contributing to the binding of substrates. The conformations of the bound tryptophan substrates are changed from that seen previously in the binary complexes. In l-tryptophan ternary complex, the indole ring now adopts the same orientation as seen in the PrnB binary complexes with other tryptophan substrates. The amide and carboxylate group of the substrate are orientated in a new conformation. Tyr321 and Ser332 play a key role in binding these groups. The structures suggest that catalysis requires an l-configured substrate. Isothermal titration calorimetry data suggest d-tryptophan does not bind after cyanide (or oxygen) coordinates with the distal (or sixth) site of heme. This is the first ternary complex with a tryptophan substrate of a member of the tryptophan dioxygenase superfamily and has mechanistic implications.
Medicinal plants are a prolific source of natural products with remarkable chemical and biological properties, many of which have considerable remedial benefits. Numerous medicinal plants are ...suffering from wildcrafting, and thus biotechnological production processes of their natural products are urgently needed. The plant Aster tataricus is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine and contains unique active ingredients named astins. These are macrocyclic peptides showing promising antitumor activities and usually containing the highly unusual moiety 3,4-dichloroproline. The biosynthetic origins of astins are unknown despite being studied for decades. Here we show that astins are produced by the recently discovered fungal endophyte Cyanodermella asteris. We were able to produce astins in reasonable and reproducible amounts using axenic cultures of the endophyte. We identified the biosynthetic gene cluster responsible for astin biosynthesis in the genome of C. asteris and propose a production pathway that is based on a nonribosomal peptide synthetase. Striking differences in the production profiles of endophyte and host plant imply a symbiotic cross-species biosynthesis pathway for astin C derivatives, in which plant enzymes or plant signals are required to trigger the synthesis of plant-exclusive variants such as astin A. Our findings lay the foundation for the sustainable biotechnological production of astins independent from aster plants.
Flavoprotein monooxygenases create valuable compounds that are of high interest for the chemical, pharmaceutical, and agrochemical industries, among others. Monooxygenases that use flavin as cofactor ...are either single- or two-component systems. Here we summarize the current knowledge about two-component flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-dependent monooxygenases and describe their biotechnological relevance. Two-component FAD-dependent monooxygenases catalyze hydroxylation, epoxidation, and halogenation reactions and are physiologically involved in amino acid metabolism, mineralization of aromatic compounds, and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. The monooxygenase component of these enzymes is strictly dependent on reduced FAD, which is supplied by the reductase component. More and more representatives of two-component FAD-dependent monooxygenases have been discovered and characterized in recent years, which has resulted in the identification of novel physiological roles, functional properties, and a variety of biocatalytic opportunities.
Pyrrolnitrin is a secondary metabolite of Pseudomonas and Burkholderia sp. strains with strong antifungal activity. Production of pyrrolnitrin has been correlated with the ability of some bacteria to ...control plant diseases caused by fungal pathogens, including the damping-off pathogen Rhizoctonia solani. Pseudomonas fluorescens BL915 has been reported to produce pyrrolnitrin and to be an effective biocontrol agent for this pathogen. We have isolated a 32-kb genomic DNA fragment from this strain that contains genes involved in the biosynthesis of pyrrolnitrin. Marker-exchange mutagenesis of this DNA with Tn5 revealed the presence of a 6.2-kb region that contains genes required for the synthesis of pyrrolnitrin. The nucleotide sequence of the 6.2-kb region was determined and found to contain a cluster of four genes that are required for the production of pyrrolnitrin. Deletion mutations in any of the four genes resulted in a pyrrolnitrin-nonproducing phenotype. The putative coding sequences of the four individual genes were cloned by PCR and fused to the tac promoter from Escherichia coli. In each case, the appropriate tac promoter-pyrrolnitrin gene fusion was shown to complement the pyrrolnitrin-negative phenotype of the corresponding deletion mutant. Transfer of the four gene cluster to E. coli resulted in the production of pyrrolnitrin by this organism, thereby demonstrating that the four genes are sufficient for the production of this metabolite and represent all of the genes required to encode the pathway for pyrrolnitrin biosynthesis
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