K.H.Sung
et al.
(2018).
Insights into the Dual Activity of a Bifunctional Dehydratase-Cyclase Domain.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl,
57,
343-347.
PubMed id: 29084363
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201707774
Oxygen-containing heterocycles are a common structural motif in polyketide
natural products and contribute significantly to their biological activity.
Here, we report structural and mechanistic investigations on AmbDH3, a
polyketide synthase domain with dual activity as dehydratase (DH) and
pyran-forming cyclase in ambruticin biosynthesis. AmbDH3 is similar to
monofunctional DH domains, using H51 and D215 for dehydration. V173 was
confirmed as a diagnostic residue for cyclization activity by a mutational study
and enzymatic in vitro experiments. Similar motifs were observed in the
seemingly monofunctional AmbDH2, which also shows an unexpected cyclase
activity. Our results pave the way for mining of hidden cyclases in biosynthetic
pathways. They also open interesting prospects for the generation of novel
biocatalysts for chemoenzymatic synthesis and pyran-polyketides by combinatorial
biosynthesis.