Diversity of ABBA Prenyltransferases in Marine Streptomyces sp. CNQ-509: Promiscuous Enzymes for the Biosynthesis of Mixed Terpenoid Compounds.

Terpenoids are arguably the largest and most diverse family of natural products, featuring prominently in e.g. signalling, self-defence, UV-protection and electron transfer. Prenyltransferases are essential players in terpenoid and hybrid isoprenoid biosynthesis that install isoprene units on target molecules and thereby often modulate their bioactivity. In our search for new prenyltransferase biocatalysts we focused on the marine-derived Streptomyces sp. CNQ-509, a particularly rich source of meroterpenoid chemistry. Sequencing and analysis of the genome of Streptomyces sp. CNQ-509 revealed seven putative phenol/phenazine-specific ABBA prenyltransferases, and one putative indole-specific ABBA prenyltransferase. To elucidate the substrate specificity of the ABBA prenyltransferases and to learn about their role in secondary metabolism, CnqP1 -CnqP8 were produced in Escherichia coli and incubated with various aromatic and isoprenoid substrates. Five of the eight prenyltransferases displayed enzymatic activity. The efficient conversion of dihydroxynaphthalene derivatives by CnqP3 (encoded by AA958_24325) and the co-location of AA958_24325 with genes characteristic for the biosynthesis of THN (tetrahydroxynaphthalene)-derived natural products indicates that the enzyme is involved in the formation of debromomarinone or other naphthoquinone-derived meroterpenoids. Moreover, CnqP3 showed high flexibility towards a range of aromatic and isoprenoid substrates and thus represents an interesting new tool for biocatalytic applications.

Complete genome sequence of Streptomyces sp. CNQ-509, a prolific producer of meroterpenoid chemistry.

Streptomyces sp. CNQ-509 is a marine actinomycete belonging to the MAR4 streptomycete lineage. MAR4 strains have been linked to the production of diverse and otherwise rare meroterpenoid compounds. The genome sequence of Streptomyces sp. CNQ-509 was found to contain 29 putative gene clusters for the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, some of them potentially involved in the formation of meroterpenoid molecules.

A membrane-bound prenyltransferase catalyzes the O-prenylation of 1,6-dihydroxyphenazine in the marine bacterium Streptomyces sp. CNQ-509.

Streptomyces sp. CNQ-509 produces the rare O-prenylated phenazines marinophenazines A and B. To identify the enzyme catalyzing the O-prenyl transfer in marinophenazine biosynthesis, we sequenced the genome of S. sp. CNQ-509. This led to the identification of two genomic loci harboring putative phenazine biosynthesis genes. The first locus contains orthologues for all seven genes involved in phenazine-1-carboxylic acid biosynthesis in pseudomonads. The second locus contains two known phenazine biosynthesis genes and a putative prenyltransferase gene termed cnqPT1. cnqPT1 codes for a membrane protein with sequence similarity to the prenyltransferase UbiA of ubiquinone biosynthesis. The enzyme CnqPT1 was identified as a 1,6-dihydroxyphenazine geranyltransferase, which catalyzes the C-O bond formation between C-1 of the geranyl moiety and O-6 of the phenazine scaffold. CnqPT1 is the first example of a prenyltransferase catalyzing O-prenyl transfer to a phenazine.

Genome-based discovery of a novel membrane-bound 1,6-dihydroxyphenazine prenyltransferase from a marine actinomycete.

Recently, novel prenylated derivatives of 1,6-dihydroxyphenazine have been isolated from the marine sponge-associated Streptomyces sp. SpC080624SC-11. Genome sequencing of this strain now revealed a gene cluster containing all genes necessary for the synthesis of the phenazine and the isoprenoid moieties. Unexpectedly, however, the cluster did not contain a gene with similarity to previously investigated phenazine prenyltransferases, but instead a gene with modest similarity to the membrane-bound prenyltransferases of ubiquinone and menaquinone biosynthesis. Expression of this gene in E. coli and isolation of the membrane fraction proved that the encoded enzyme, Mpz10, catalyzes two successive prenylations of 1,6-dihydroxyphenazine. Mpz10 is the first example of a membrane-bound enzyme catalyzing the prenylation of a phenazine substrate, and one of few examples of membrane-bound enzymes involved in the prenylation of aromatic secondary metabolites in microorganisms.