Discovery of Aburatubolactams Reveals Biosynthetic Logic for Distinct 5/5-Type Polycyclic Tetramate Macrolactams.

A known polycyclic tetramate macrolactam (aburatubolactam C, 3) and three new ones (aburatubolactams D-F, 4-6, respectively) were isolated from the marine-derived Streptomyces sp. SCSIO 40070. The absolute configuration of 3 was established by X-ray analysis. A combinatorial biosynthetic approach unveiled biosynthetic enzymes dictating the formation of distinct 5/5-type ring systems (such as C7-C14 cyclization by AtlB1 in 5 and C6-C13 cyclization by AtlB2 in 6) in aburatubolactams.

Discovery of Tetronate-Containing Kongjuemycins from a Coral-Associated Actinomycete and Elucidation of Their Biosynthetic Origin.

Tetronate antibiotics make up a growing family of natural products with a wide variety of biological activities. Herein, we report four new tetronates kongjuemycins (KJMs, 5-8) from a coral-associated actinomycete Pseudonocardia kongjuensis SCSIO 11457, and the identification and characterization of the KJM biosynthetic gene cluster (kjm) by heterologous expression, comparative genomic analysis, isotope labeling, and gene knockout studies. The biosynthesis of KJMs is demonstrated to harness diverse precursors from primary metabolism for building secondary metabolites.

Antifungal Macrolides Kongjuemycins from Coral-Associated Rare Actinomycete Pseudonocardia kongjuensis SCSIO 11457.

Four new macrolides, kongjuemycins A and B1-B3 (1-4), were isolated from a coral-associated actinomycete Pseudonocardia kongjuensis SCSIO 11457. Their structures were characterized by comprehensive spectroscopic analysis and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The absolute configurations of 1 and 2 were established by electronic circular dichroism calculation and the modified Mosher's method. Kongjuemycins displayed antifungal activity against three phytopathogenic fungi.

Discovery of a new asymmetric dimer nenestatin B and implications of a dimerizing enzyme in a deep sea actinomycete.

Benzofluorene-containing atypical angucyclines are an important family of natural products with a broad spectrum of antibacterial and cytotoxic properties. Interestingly, symmetric and asymmetric dimers showed better activity than the monomer in this class of compounds. Herein, we reported the isolation of a new asymmetric dimer nenestatin B (2) from the deep sea actinomycete Micromonospora echinospora SCSIO 04089 and a monomer nenestatin C (3) from an NmrA family regulatory protein coding gene nes18 inactivated mutant. The structural elucidation of 3 indicated the essential role of Nes18 in the biosynthetic pathway of 2, specifically in dimerization via C-C bond formation.

Cylindromicin from Arctic-Derived Fungus Tolypocladium sp. SCSIO 40433.

The fungus strain SCSIO 40433 was isolated from an Arctic-derived glacier sediment sample and characterized as Tolypocladium cylindrosporum. A new compound, cylindromicin (1), and seven known secondary metabolites (2-8) were isolated from this strain. The chemical structures of these compounds were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic analyses. Cylindromicin (1) featured a 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran skeleton. The absolute configuration of compound 1 was assigned via interpretation of key Nuclear Overhauser Effect Spectroscopy (NOESY) correlations and Electronic Circular Dichroism (ECD) calculation. Cylindromicin (1) exhibited significant tyrosinase inhibition activity. This study highlights Polar fungi as a potential resource for new bioactive natural products.

A new uridine derivative and a new indole derivative from the coral-associated actinomycete Pseudonocardia sp. SCSIO 11457.

A new uridine derivative 11457 A (1), and a new indole derivative 11457B (2), together with a known compound 1H-indole-2-carbaldehyde (3), were characterized from the fermentation broth of the actinomycete Pseudonocardia sp. SCSIO 11457, an isolate associated with the scleractinian coral Galaxea fascicularis. Upon detailed spectroscopic analysis, 11457 A (1) was identified as a uridine analog, and 11457B (2) was elucidated as an indole derivative 2-hydroxy-1-(1H-indol-2-yl)pentane-1,4-dione. Biological evaluation indicated that none of compounds 1-3 showed antibacterial activities against pathogenic bacteria and cytotoxic activities against human cancer cell lines.

Mutation of an atypical oxirane oxyanion hole improves regioselectivity of the α/ß-fold epoxide hydrolase Alp1U.

Epoxide hydrolases (EHs) have been characterized and engineered as biocatalysts that convert epoxides to valuable chiral vicinal diol precursors of drugs and bioactive compounds. Nonetheless, the regioselectivity control of the epoxide ring opening by EHs remains challenging. Alp1U is an α/ß-fold EH that exhibits poor regioselectivity in the epoxide hydrolysis of fluostatin C (compound 1) and produces a pair of stereoisomers. Herein, we established the absolute configuration of the two stereoisomeric products and determined the crystal structure of Alp1U. A Trp-186/Trp-187/Tyr-247 oxirane oxygen hole was identified in Alp1U that replaced the canonical Tyr/Tyr pair in α/ß-EHs. Mutation of residues in the atypical oxirane oxygen hole of Alp1U improved the regioselectivity for epoxide hydrolysis on 1. The single site Y247F mutation led to highly regioselective (98%) attack at C-3 of 1, whereas the double mutation W187F/Y247F resulted in regioselective (94%) nucleophilic attack at C-2. Furthermore, single-crystal X-ray structures of the two regioselective Alp1U variants in complex with 1 were determined. These findings allowed insights into the reaction details of Alp1U and provided a new approach for engineering regioselective epoxide hydrolases.

S-Bridged Thioether and Structure-Diversified Angucyclinone Derivatives from the South China Sea-Derived Micromonospora echinospora SCSIO 04089.

Angucyclinces belong to the class of aromatic polyketides and display a wide variety of structure diversity and pharmaceutical significance. Herein we report the isolation, structure elucidation, and bioactivity evaluation of structure-diversified angucyclinone derivatives and anthracene from the South China Sea-derived Micromonospora echinospora SCSIO 04089, including a thioether, gephysulfuromycin (1), two new benzo[b]phenanthridines, homophenanthroviridone (2) and homophenanthridonamide (3), a new benzo[b]fluorene, homostealthin D (4), a new naphtho[2,3-b]benzofuran, nenesfuran (5), a new naphthoquinone, WS-5995 D (6) and a new anthracene, nenesophanol (7), together with three known compounds (8-10). Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses. The structures of 1-3 and 5-8 were confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analyses. Gephysulfuromycin (1) featured a rare single S-bridged 3,12a-epithiotetraphene skeleton. Homophenanthroviridone (2) was found to be cytotoxic to SF-268, MCF-7, and HepG2 cell lines with IC50 values of 5.4 ± 0.4, 6.8 ± 0.3, and 1.4 ± 0.1 µM, respectively. Compound 2 was also active against Gram-positive bacteria with MIC (minimal inhibition concentration) values ranging 2-4 µg mL-1.

Discovery of Stealthin Derivatives and Implication of the Amidotransferase FlsN3 in the Biosynthesis of Nitrogen-Containing Fluostatins.

Diazobenzofluorene-containing atypical angucyclines exhibit promising biological activities. Here we report the inactivation of an amidotransferase-encoding gene flsN3 in Micromonospora rosaria SCSIO N160, a producer of fluostatins. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that FlsN3 was involved in the diazo formation. Chemical investigation of the flsN3-inactivation mutant resulted in the isolation of a variety of angucycline aromatic polyketides, including four racemic aminobenzo[b]fluorenes stealthins D⁻G (9⁻12) harboring a stealthin C-like core skeleton with an acetone or butanone-like side chain. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic data and X-ray diffraction analysis. A plausible mechanism for the formation of stealthins D⁻G (9⁻12) was proposed. These results suggested a functional role of FlsN3 in the formation/modification of N⁻N bond-containing fluostatins.

Albumycin, a new isoindolequinone from Streptomyces albus J1074 harboring the fluostatin biosynthetic gene cluster.

Heterologous expression of the fluostatin biosynthetic gene cluster from the marine-derived Micromonospora rosaria SCSIO N160 in Streptomyces albus J1074 led to the isolation of a novel isoindolequinone albumycin (1) and a known isoquinolinequinone mansouramycin A (2). The structure of 1 was elucidated on the basis of detailed 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analysis. Mansouramycin A (2) is active against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 43300, with a MIC of 8 µg ml-1, while albumycin (1) displayed negligible antibacterial activities. This study represents another example of activation of secondary metabolites that are non-relevant to the heterologously introduced biosynthetic gene cluster in a bacterial host.