De novo design of proteins housing excitonically coupled chlorophyll special pairs.

Natural photosystems couple light harvesting to charge separation using a 'special pair' of chlorophyll molecules that accepts excitation energy from the antenna and initiates an electron-transfer cascade. To investigate the photophysics of special pairs independently of the complexities of native photosynthetic proteins, and as a first step toward creating synthetic photosystems for new energy conversion technologies, we designed C2-symmetric proteins that hold two chlorophyll molecules in closely juxtaposed arrangements. X-ray crystallography confirmed that one designed protein binds two chlorophylls in the same orientation as native special pairs, whereas a second designed protein positions them in a previously unseen geometry. Spectroscopy revealed that the chlorophylls are excitonically coupled, and fluorescence lifetime imaging demonstrated energy transfer. The cryo-electron microscopy structure of a designed 24-chlorophyll octahedral nanocage with a special pair on each edge closely matched the design model. The results suggest that the de novo design of artificial photosynthetic systems is within reach of current computational methods.

Structural basis of nonribosomal peptide macrocyclization in fungi.

Nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) in fungi biosynthesize important pharmaceutical compounds, including penicillin, cyclosporine and echinocandin. To understand the fungal strategy of forging the macrocyclic peptide linkage, we determined the crystal structures of the terminal condensation-like (CT) domain and the holo thiolation (T)-CT complex of Penicillium aethiopicum TqaA. The first, to our knowledge, structural depiction of the terminal module in a fungal NRPS provides a molecular blueprint for generating new macrocyclic peptide natural products.

Understanding Programming of Fungal Iterative Polyketide Synthases: The Biochemical Basis for Regioselectivity by the Methyltransferase Domain in the Lovastatin Megasynthase.

Highly reducing polyketide synthases (HR-PKSs) from fungi synthesize complex natural products using a single set of domains in a highly programmed, iterative fashion. The most enigmatic feature of HR-PKSs is how tailoring domains function selectively during different iterations of chain elongation to afford structural diversity. Using the lovastatin nonaketide synthase LovB as a model system and a variety of acyl substrates, we characterized the substrate specificity of the LovB methyltransferase (MT) domain. We showed that, while the MT domain displays methylation activity toward different ß-ketoacyl groups, it is exceptionally selective toward its naturally programmed ß-keto-dienyltetraketide substrate with respect to both chain length and functionalization. Accompanying characterization of the ketoreductase (KR) domain displays broader substrate specificity toward different ß-ketoacyl groups. Our studies indicate that selective modifications by tailoring domains, such as the MTs, are achieved by higher kinetic efficiency on a particular substrate relative to the rate of transformation by other competing domains.

Tandem prenyltransferases catalyze isoprenoid elongation and complexity generation in biosynthesis of quinolone alkaloids.

Modification of natural products with prenyl groups and the ensuing oxidative transformations are important for introducing structural complexity and biological activities. Penigequinolones (1) are potent insecticidal alkaloids that contain a highly modified 10-carbon prenyl group. Here we reveal an iterative prenylation mechanism for installing the 10-carbon unit using two aromatic prenyltransferases (PenI and PenG) present in the gene cluster of 1 from Penicillium thymicola. The initial Friedel-Crafts alkylation is catalyzed by PenI to yield dimethylallyl quinolone 6. The five-carbon side chain is then dehydrogenated by a flavin-dependent monooxygenase to give aryl diene 9, which serves as the electron-rich substrate for a second alkylation with dimethylallyl diphosphate to yield stryrenyl product 10. The completed, oxidized 10-carbon prenyl group then undergoes further structural morphing to yield yaequinolone C (12), the immediate precursor of 1. Our studies have therefore uncovered an unprecedented prenyl chain extension mechanism in natural product biosynthesis.

Discovery of Unclustered Fungal Indole Diterpene Biosynthetic Pathways through Combinatorial Pathway Reassembly in Engineered Yeast.

The structural diversity and biological activities of fungal indole diterpenes (IDTs) are generated in large part by the IDT cyclases (IDTCs). Identifying different IDTCs from IDT biosynthetic pathways is therefore important toward understanding how these enzymes introduce chemical diversity from a common linear precursor. However, IDTCs involved in the cyclization of the well-known aflavinine subgroup of IDTs have not been discovered. Here, using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a heterologous host and a phylogenetically guided enzyme mining approach, we combinatorially assembled IDT biosynthetic pathways using IDTCs homologues identified from different fungal hosts. We identified the genetically standalone IDTCs involved in the cyclization of aflavinine and anominine and produced new IDTs not previously isolated. The cyclization mechanisms of the new IDTCs were proposed based on the yeast reconstitution results. Our studies demonstrate heterologous pathway assembly is a useful tool in the reconstitution of unclustered biosynthetic pathways.

EcdGHK are three tailoring iron oxygenases for amino acid building blocks of the echinocandin scaffold.

The echinocandins are a small group of fungal N-acylated cyclic hexapeptides that are fungicidal for candida strains and fungistatic for aspergilli by targeting cell wall 1,3-ß-glucan synthases. The side chains of all six amino acid building blocks have hydroxyl groups, including the nonproteinogenic 4R,5R-dihydroxy-Orn1, 4R-OH-Pro3, 3S,4S-dihydroxy-homoTyr4, and 3S-OH-4S-Me-Pro6. The echinocandin (ecd) gene cluster contains two predicted nonheme mononuclear iron oxygenase genes (ecdG,K) and one encoding a P450 type heme protein (ecdH). Deletion of the ecdH gene in the producing strain Emericella rugulosa generates an echinocandin scaffold (echinocandin D) lacking both hydroxyl groups on Orn1. Correspondingly, the ΔecdG strain failed to hydroxylate C3 of the homoTyr residue, and purified EcdG hydroxylated free L-homoTyr at C3. The ΔecdK strain failed to generate mature echinocandin unless supplemented with either 4R-Me-Pro or 3S-OH-4S-Me-Pro, indicating blockage of a step upstream of Me-Pro formation. Purified EcdK is a Leu 5-hydroxylase, acting iteratively at C5 to yield γ-Me-Glu-γ-semialdehyde in equilibrium with the cyclic imine product. Evaluation of deshydroxyechinocandin scaffolds in the in vitro anticandidal assays revealed up to a 3-fold loss of potency for the ΔecdG scaffolds, but a 3-fold gain of potency for the ΔecdH scaffold, in line with prior results on deoxyechinocandin homologues.

A cytochrome P450 serves as an unexpected terpene cyclase during fungal meroterpenoid biosynthesis.

Viridicatumtoxin (1) is a tetracycline-like fungal meroterpenoid with a unique, fused spirobicyclic ring system. Puzzlingly, no dedicated terpene cyclase is found in the gene cluster identified in Penicillium aethiopicum. Cytochrome P450 enzymes VrtE and VrtK in the vrt gene cluster were shown to catalyze C5-hydroxylation and spirobicyclic ring formation, respectively. Feeding acyclic previridicatumtoxin to Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing VrtK confirmed that VrtK is the sole enzyme required for cyclizing the geranyl moiety. Thus, VrtK is the first example of a P450 that can catalyze terpene cyclization, most likely via initial oxidation of C17 to an allylic carbocation. Quantum chemical modeling revealed a possible new tertiary carbocation intermediate E that forms after allylic carbocation formation. Intermediate E can readily undergo concerted 1,2-alkyl shift/1,3-hydride shift, either spontaneously or further aided by VrtK, followed by C7 Friedel-Crafts alkylation to afford 1. The most likely stereochemical course of the reaction was proposed on the basis of the results of our computations.

Identification and characterization of the echinocandin B biosynthetic gene cluster from Emericella rugulosa NRRL 11440.

Echinocandins are a family of fungal lipidated cyclic hexapeptide natural products. Due to their effectiveness as antifungal agents, three semisynthetic derivatives have been developed and approved for treatment of human invasive candidiasis. All six of the amino acid residues are hydroxylated, including 4R,5R-dihydroxy-L-ornithine, 4R-hydroxyl-L-proline, 3S,4S-dihydroxy-L-homotyrosine, and 3S-hydroxyl-4S-methyl-L-proline. We report here the biosynthetic gene cluster of echinocandin B 1 from Emericella rugulosa NRRL 11440 containing genes encoding for a six-module nonribosomal peptide synthetase EcdA, an acyl-AMP ligase EcdI, and oxygenases EcdG, EcdH, and EcdK. We showed EcdI activates linoleate as linoleyl-AMP and installs it on the first thiolation domain of EcdA. We have also established through ATP-PP(i) exchange assay that EcdA loads L-ornithine in the first module. A separate hty gene cluster encodes four enzymes for de novo generation of L-homotyrosine from acetyl-CoA and 4-hydroxyphenyl-pyruvate is found from the sequenced genome. Deletions in the ecdA, and htyA genes validate their essential roles in echinocandin B production. Five predicted iron-centered oxygenase genes, ecdG, ecdH, ecdK, htyE, and htyF, in the two separate ecd and hty clusters are likely to be the tailoring oxygenases for maturation of the nascent NRPS lipohexapeptidolactam product.

Protein engineering towards natural product synthesis and diversification.

A dazzling array of enzymes is used by nature in making structurally complex natural products. These enzymes constitute a molecular toolbox that may be used in the construction and fine-tuning of pharmaceutically active molecules. Aided by technological advancements in protein engineering, it is now possible to tailor the activities and specificities of these enzymes as biocatalysts in the production of both natural products and their unnatural derivatives. These efforts are crucial in drug discovery and development, where there is a continuous quest for more potent agents. Both rational and random evolution techniques have been utilized in engineering these enzymes. This review will highlight some examples from several large families of natural products.

Reconstitution of Fungal Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetases in Yeast and In Vitro.

The emergence of next-generation sequencing has provided new opportunities in the discovery of new nonribosomal peptides (NRPs) and NRP synthethases (NRPSs). However, there remain challenges for the characterization of these megasynthases. While genetic methods in native hosts are critical in elucidation of the function of fungal NRPS, in vitro assays of intact heterologously expressed proteins provide deeper mechanistic insights in NRPS enzymology. Our previous work in the study of NRPS takes advantage of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain BJ5464-npgA as a robust and versatile platform for characterization of fungal NRPSs. Here we describe the use of yeast recombination strategies in S. cerevisiae for cloning of the NRPS coding sequence in 2µ-based expression vector; the use of affinity chromatography for purification of NRPS from the total S. cerevisiae soluble protein fraction; and strategies for reconstitution of NRPSs activities in vitro.

Mechanism of the P450-Catalyzed Oxidative Cyclization in the Biosynthesis of Griseofulvin.

Griseofulvin is an anti-fungal agent which has recently been determined to have potential anti-viral and anti-cancer applications. The role of specific enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of this natural product has previously been determined, but the mechanism by which a p450, GsfF, catalyzes the key oxidative cyclization of griseophenone B remains unknown. Using density functional theory (DFT), we have determined the mechanism of this oxidation that forms the oxa-spiro core of griseofulvin. Computations show GsfF preferentially performs two sequential phenolic O-H abstractions rather than epoxidation to form an arene oxide intermediate. This conclusion is supported by experimental kinetic isotope effects.

Next-generation sequencing approach for connecting secondary metabolites to biosynthetic gene clusters in fungi.

Genomics has revolutionized the research on fungal secondary metabolite (SM) biosynthesis. To elucidate the molecular and enzymatic mechanisms underlying the biosynthesis of a specific SM compound, the important first step is often to find the genes that responsible for its synthesis. The accessibility to fungal genome sequences allows the bypass of the cumbersome traditional library construction and screening approach. The advance in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have further improved the speed and reduced the cost of microbial genome sequencing in the past few years, which has accelerated the research in this field. Here, we will present an example work flow for identifying the gene cluster encoding the biosynthesis of SMs of interest using an NGS approach. We will also review the different strategies that can be employed to pinpoint the targeted gene clusters rapidly by giving several examples stemming from our work.

Bringing protein engineering and natural product biosynthesis together.

In this issue of Chemistry & Biology, Zhang and colleagues developed a yeast cell surface display strategy to effectively evolve the substrate specificity of DhbE, one of the adenylation domains of the bacillibactin synthetase complex. The method yields DbhE variants that have dramatically altered substrate specifities toward unnatural aryl substrates.

Complexity generation in fungal polyketide biosynthesis: a spirocycle-forming P450 in the concise pathway to the antifungal drug griseofulvin.

Griseofulvin (1) is a spirocyclic fungal natural product used in treatment of fungal dermatophytes. Formation of the spirocycle, or the grisan scaffold, from a benzophenone precursor is critical for the activity of 1. In this study, we have systematically characterized each of the biosynthetic enzymes related to the biogenesis of 1, including the characterization of a new polyketide synthase GsfA that synthesizes the benzophenone precursor and a cytochrome P450 GsfF that performs oxidative coupling between the orcinol and the phloroglucinol rings to yield the grisan structure. Notably, the finding of GsfF is in sharp contrast to the copper-dependent dihydrogeodin oxidase that performs a similar reaction in the geodin biosynthetic pathway. The biosynthetic knowledge enabled the in vitro total biosynthesis of 1 from malonyl-CoA using all purified enzyme components. This work therefore completely maps out the previously unresolved enzymology of the biosynthesis of a therapeutically relevant natural product.

Discovery of cryptic polyketide metabolites from dermatophytes using heterologous expression in Aspergillus nidulans.

Dermatophytes belonging to the Trichophyton and Arthroderma genera cause skin infections in humans and animals. From genome sequencing data, we mined a conserved gene cluster among dermatophytes that are homologous to one that produces an immunosuppressive polyketide in Aspergillus fumigatus. Using a recombination-based cloning strategy in yeast, we constructed fungal heterologous expression vectors that encode the cryptic clusters. When integrated into the model Aspergillus nidulans host, a structurally related compound neosartoricin B was formed, suggesting a possible role of this compound in the pathogenesis of these strains.