Underground metabolism as a rich reservoir for pathway engineering.

MOTIVATION: Bioproduction of value-added compounds is frequently achieved by utilizing enzymes from other species. However, expression of such heterologous enzymes can be detrimental due to unexpected interactions within the host cell. Recently, an alternative strategy emerged, which relies on recruiting side activities of host enzymes to establish new biosynthetic pathways. Although such low-level 'underground' enzyme activities are prevalent, it remains poorly explored whether they may serve as an important reservoir for pathway engineering. RESULTS: Here, we use genome-scale modeling to estimate the theoretical potential of underground reactions for engineering novel biosynthetic pathways in Escherichia coli. We found that biochemical reactions contributed by underground enzyme activities often enhance the in silico production of compounds with industrial importance, including several cases where underground activities are indispensable for production. Most of these new capabilities can be achieved by the addition of one or two underground reactions to the native network, suggesting that only a few side activities need to be enhanced during implementation. Remarkably, we find that the contribution of underground reactions to the production of value-added compounds is comparable to that of heterologous reactions, underscoring their biotechnological potential. Taken together, our genome-wide study demonstrates that exploiting underground enzyme activities could be a promising addition to the toolbox of industrial strain development. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The data and scripts underlying this article are available on GitHub at https://github.com/pappb/Kovacs-et-al-Underground-metabolism. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Understanding and Exploitation of Neighboring Heteroatom Effect for the Mild N-Arylation of Heterocycles with Diaryliodonium Salts under Aqueous Conditions: A Theoretical and Experimental Mechanistic Study.

The mechanism of arylation of N-heterocycles with unsymmetric diaryliodonium salts is elucidated. The fast and efficient N-arylation reaction is interpreted in terms of the bifunctionality of the substrate: The consecutive actions of properly oriented Lewis base and Brønsted acid centers in sufficient proximity result in the fast and efficient N-arylation. The mechanistic picture points to a promising synthetic strategy where suitably positioned nucleophilic and acidic centers enable functionalization, and it is tested experimentally.

Mild and Efficient Palladium-Catalyzed Direct Trifluoroethylation of Aromatic Systems by C-H Activation.

The introduction of trifluoroalkyl groups into aromatic molecules is an important transformation in the field of organic and medicinal chemistry. However, the direct installation of fluoroalkyl groups onto aromatic molecules still represents a challenging and highly demanding synthetic task. Herein, a simple trifluoroethylation process that relies on the palladium-catalyzed C-H activation of aromatic compounds is described. With the utilization of a highly active trifluoroethyl(mesityl)iodonium salt, the developed catalytic method enables the first highly efficient and selective trifluoroethylation of aromatic compounds. The robust catalytic procedure provides the desired products in up to 95 % yield at 25 °C in 1.5 to 3 hours and tolerates a broad range of functional groups. The utilization of hypervalent reagents opens new synthetic possibilities for direct alkylations and fluoroalkylations in the field of transition-metal-catalyzed C-H activation.

Efficient copper-catalyzed trifluoromethylation of aromatic and heteroaromatic iodides: the beneficial anchoring effect of borates.

Efficient copper-catalyzed trifluoromethylation of aromatic iodides was achieved with TMSCF3 in the presence of trimethylborate. The Lewis acid was used to anchor the in situ generated trifluoromethyl anion and suppress its rapid decomposition. Broad applicability of the new trifluoromethylating reaction was demonstrated in the functionalization of different aromatic and heteroaromatic iodides.

Design and application of new imidazolylsulfonate-based benzyne precursor: an efficient triflate alternative.

Several o-(trimethylsilyl)aryl imidazolylsulfonates were synthesized in a simple process and successfully applied in cycloadditions involving benzyne intermediates. The precursor offers an efficient alternative for generating benzynes compared to widely used ortho TMS triflates under similar reaction conditions. With the utilization of this new precursor, the formation of potentially genotoxic trifluoromethanesulfonate side product is eliminated. The applicability of the new benzyne precursor was demonstrated in different types of cycloaddition reactions to prepare heterocyclic molecules.

Oxidoreductive coupling of thiols with aryl halides catalyzed by copper on iron.

Synthesis and utilization of a simple copper on iron catalyst in the coupling of aryl halides with thiols through disulfide intermediate is reported. The iron support of copper catalyst ensures reductive media for the coupling, allows easy removal of the metals by outer magnetic field and enables the recycling of the catalyst.