Download MendeleyUse of a scaffold peptide in the biosynthesis of amino acid-derived natural products.
Ting, C.P., Funk, M.A., Halaby, S.L., Zhang, Z., Gonen, T., van der Donk, W.A.(2019) Science 365: 280-284
- PubMed: 31320540
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau6232
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
6PO6 - PubMed Abstract:
Genome sequencing of environmental bacteria allows identification of biosynthetic gene clusters encoding unusual combinations of enzymes that produce unknown natural products. We identified a pathway in which a ribosomally synthesized small peptide serves as a scaffold for nonribosomal peptide extension and chemical modification. Amino acids are transferred to the carboxyl terminus of the peptide through adenosine triphosphate and amino acyl-tRNA-dependent chemistry that is independent of the ribosome. Oxidative rearrangement, carboxymethylation, and proteolysis of a terminal cysteine yields an amino acid-derived small molecule. Microcrystal electron diffraction demonstrates that the resulting product is isosteric to glutamate. We show that a similar peptide extension is used during the biosynthesis of the ammosamides, which are cytotoxic pyrroloquinoline alkaloids. These results suggest an alternative paradigm for biosynthesis of amino acid-derived natural products.
Organizational Affiliation:
Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.
