ABSTRACT
Bacterial resistance to existing antibiotics continues to grow, necessitating the discovery of new compounds of this type. Antisense-based whole-cell target-based screening is a new and highly sensitive antibiotic discovery approach that has led to a number of new natural product antibiotics. Screening with a rpsD-sensitized strain led to the discovery of a number of natural product polyketides from Streptomyces lucensis. Complete workup of the fermentation extract of this strain allowed for the isolation of seven new compounds, lucensimycins A-G (1-3, 4a, 5-7), with varying degrees of antibacterial activities. Lucensimycin E (5) exhibited the best activity and showed MIC values of 32 microg/mL against Staphylococcus aureus and 8 microg/mL against Streptococcus pneumoniae. The isolation, structure elucidation, and antibacterial activities of four new members, lucensimycins D-G, are described. Lucensimycins D (4a) and E (5) are N-acetyl-l-cysteine adducts of lucensimycin A (1). Semisynthesis of lucensimycins D and E from lucensimycin A has also been described. Lucensimycins F and G are myo-inositolyl-alpha-2-amino-2-deoxy-l-idosyl amide derivatives of lucensimycins D and E, respectively. The relative configuration of these compounds was determined, in part, by molecular dynamics simulations.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents , DNA, Bacterial/genetics , Spiro Compounds , Streptomyces/chemistry , Streptomyces/genetics , Anti-Bacterial Agents/chemistry , Anti-Bacterial Agents/isolation & purification , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , DNA, Antisense/genetics , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Molecular Structure , Spiro Compounds/chemistry , Spiro Compounds/isolation & purification , Spiro Compounds/pharmacology , Staphylococcus aureus/drug effects , Streptococcus pneumoniae/drug effects , West IndiesABSTRACT
Inhibition of protein synthesis is one of the validated and highly successful targets for inhibition of bacterial growth; this mechanism is a target of a large number of clinical drugs. Ribosomal protein S4, a primary protein, is a potential target for the discovery of antibacterial agents. We describe, using an antisense-sensitized rpsD Streptomyces aureus strain, the discovery and activity of lucensimycins A and B. [structure: see text].
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/biosynthesis , DNA, Antisense/genetics , Streptomyces/genetics , Streptomyces/metabolism , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , DNA, Bacterial/genetics , Drug Design , Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy , Mass Spectrometry , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Models, Molecular , Spiro Compounds/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Nodulisporic acid A (NAA) is an indole-diterpene natural product produced by an indeterminate species of the endophytic fungus Nodulisporium. NAA (Figure 1) is structurally related to the paspaline class of fungal metabolites. The biosynthetic origin proposed for these alkaloids involves the acetate/mevalonic acid pathway leading to geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP). GGPP is then proposed to condense with tryptophan to form the basic indole-diterpene core. A washed cell procedure was devised to incorporate labeled precursors into NAA by a mutant Nodulisporium culture designated MF6244. Incorporation of 2-(13)C-acetate and 2-(13)C-mevalonolactone into NAA was found to occur in the classical mevalonic acid pattern. In addition to the four mevalonic acid units that form the eastern side of the molecule, three additional isoprenylations occur to form the western and southern regions of NAA. Contrary to published reports on related compounds, incubations of Nodulisporium MF6244 with (14)C- and (13)C-tryptophan showed no incorporation of label into NAA. However, high levels of incorporation into NAA were obtained with known tryptophan precursors (14)C-, (13)C-, and (15)N-anthranilic acid and (14)C- and (13)C-ribose. A novel pathway for the biosynthesis of NAA is presented.
