Exploiting the Potential of Meroterpenoid Cyclases to Expand the Chemical Space of Fungal Meroterpenoids.

Exploiting the Potential of Meroterpenoid Cyclases to Expand the Chemical Space of Fungal Meroterpenoids.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2020 Sep 15;:
Authors: Abe I, Mitsuhashi T, Barra L, Powers Z, Kojasoy V, Cheng A, Yang F, Taniguchi Y, Kikuchi T, Fujita M, Tantillo DJ, Porco JA
Abstract
Fungal meroterpenoids are a diverse group of hybrid natural products with impressive structural complexity and high potential as drug candidates. In this work, we evaluate the promiscuity of the early structure diversity-generating step in fungal meroterpenoid biosynthetic pathways: the multibond-forming polyene cyclizations catalyzed by the yet poorly understood family of fungal meroterpenoid cyclases. In total, 12 unnatural meroterpenoids were accessed chemoenzymatically using synthetic substrates. Their complex structures were determined by 2D NMR studies as well as crystalline-sponge-based X-ray diffraction analyses. The results obtained revealed a high degree of enzyme promiscuity and experimental results, together with quantum chemical calculations provided a deeper insight into the catalytic activity of this new family of non-canonical terpene cyclases. The knowledge obtained paves the way to design and engineer artificial pathways towards second generation meroterpenoids with valuable bioactivities based on combinatorial biosynthetic strategies.
PMID: 32931152 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Angewandte Chemie - September 14, 2020 Category: Chemistry Authors: Abe I, Mitsuhashi T, Barra L, Powers Z, Kojasoy V, Cheng A, Yang F, Taniguchi Y, Kikuchi T, Fujita M, Tantillo DJ, Porco JA Tags: Angew Chem Int Ed Engl Source Type: research