Investigating the biosynthesis of Sch-642305 in the fungus Phomopsis sp. CMU-LMA.

Sch-642305 is an unusual bicyclic 10-membered macrolide produced by the filamentous fungus Phomopsis sp. CMU-LMA for which no biosynthetic evidence exists. Here, we generate a draft genome sequence of the producing organism and discover the biosynthetic gene cluster responsible for formation of Sch-642305. Targeted gene disruptions together with reconstitution of the pathway in the heterologous host Aspergillus oryzae dissect key chemical steps and shed light on a series of oxidoreductions occuring in the pathway.

Oxidative steps during the biosynthesis of squalestatin S1.

The squalestatins are a class of highly complex fungal metabolites which are potent inhibitors of squalene synthase with potential use in the control of cholesterol biosynthesis. Little is known of the chemical steps involved in the construction of the 4,8-dioxa-bicyclo[3.2.1]octane core. Here, using a combination of directed gene knockout and heterologous expression experiments, we show that two putative non-heme-iron-dependent enzymes appear to catalyse a remarkable series of six consecutive oxidations which set up the bioactive core of the squalestatins. This is followed by the action of an unusual copper-dependent oxygenase which introduces a hydroxyl required for later acetylation.

O-Methylation steps during strobilurin and bolineol biosynthesis.

Strobilurins are potent antifungal polyketides produced by basidiomycete fungi. Two genes encoding O-methyltransferases (O-MeT) are present in the biosynthetic gene cluster of strobilurin A 1. In previous studies, the two O-MeT enzymes Str2 and Str3 were found to catalyse the final steps of the biosynthesis of 1. Here, we show by in vivo expression experiments, that O-methylation during strobilurin biosynthesis is regiospecific. O-MeT Str2 acts first and selectively catalyses the methylation of the carboxyl group of strobilurin and bolineol precursors. Str3 catalyses the subsequent methyl transfer to the enol group to form strobilurin A 1, but cannot methylate bolineol 4. Toxicity tests showed increasing antifungal activity of intermediates through the pathway and that bolineol 4 shows antifungal activity against A. oryzae NSAR1 with an MIC of 0.1 mg ml-1.

Strobilurin biosynthesis in Basidiomycete fungi.

Strobilurins from fungi are the inspiration for the creation of the ß-methoxyacrylate class of agricultural fungicides. However, molecular details of the biosynthesis of strobilurins have remained cryptic. Here we report the sequence of genomes of two fungi that produce strobilurins and show that each contains a biosynthetic gene cluster, which encodes a highly reducing polyketide synthase with very unusual C-terminal hydrolase and methyltransferase domains. Expression of stpks1 in Aspergillus oryzae leads to the production of prestrobilurin A when the fermentation is supplemented with a benzoyl coenzyme A (CoA) analogue. This enables the discovery of a previously unobserved route to benzoyl CoA. Reconstruction of the gene cluster in A. oryzae leads to the formation of prestrobilurin A, and addition of the gene str9 encoding an FAD-dependent oxygenase leads to the key oxidative rearrangement responsible for the creation of the ß-methoxyacrylate toxophore. Finally, two methyltransferases are required to complete the synthesis.

An Unusual Fatty Acyl:Adenylate Ligase (FAAL)-Acyl Carrier Protein (ACP) Didomain in Ambruticin Biosynthesis.

The divinylcyclopropane (DVC) fragment of the ambruticins is proposed to be formed by a unique polyene cyclisation mechanism, in which the unusual didomain AmbG plays a key role. It is proposed to activate the branched thioester carboxylic acid resulting from polyene cyclisation and to transfer it to its associated acyl carrier protein (ACP). After oxidative decarboxylation, the intermediate is channelled back into polyketide synthase (PKS) processing. AmbG was previously annotated as an adenylation-thiolation didomain with a very unusual substrate selectivity code but has not yet been biochemically studied. On the basis of sequence and homology model analysis, we reannotate AmbG as a fatty acyl:adenylate ligase (FAAL)-acyl carrier protein didomain with unusual substrate specificity. The expected adenylate-forming activity on fatty acids was confirmed by in vitro studies. AmbG also adenylates a number of structurally diverse carboxylic acids, including functionalised fatty acids and unsaturated and aromatic carboxylic acids. HPLC-MS analysis and competition experiments show that AmbG preferentially acylates its ACP with long-chain hydrophobic acids and tolerates a π system and a branch near the carboxylic acid. AmbG is the first characterised example of a FAAL-ACP didomain that is centrally located in a PKS and apparently activates a polyketidic intermediate. This is an important step towards deeper biosynthetic studies such as partial reconstitution of the ambruticin pathway to elucidate DVC formation.