Iron catalysed insertion of sulfur into the non-activated CH bond

Alkanethioimidoyl Radicals: Evaluation of β-Scission Rates and of Cyclization onto S-Alkenyl Substituents

Thioimidoyl radicals were generated by addition of alkylsulfanyl radicals to alkyl isonitriles and were characterized by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The beta-scissions of their C.S-C bonds were studied by variable-temperature EPR spectroscopy and the fragmentation rate constants and activation energies were calculated. The scission rates depend on the stability of the released alkyl radicals but in any case, at room temperature, the processes were fast. Data collected on similar oxyimidoyls showed that their fragmentations are slightly slower compared to those of analogous thioimidoyls. The scission rates of selenoimidoyls could not be studied by EPR and were evaluated by theoretical calculations. EPR experiments also enabled both beta-scission and 5-exo ring closure rate constants of two S-but-3-enyl-substituted imidoyl radicals to be determined, showing that cyclization prevails only at low temperatures. Density functional theory (DFT) theoretical calculations predicted that the fragmentation process preferentially occurs from the s-cis rotamers (X-C bond) of the imidoyl radicals. Thio- and seleno-imidoyls (but not oxyimidoyls) prefer s-trans conformations so that their fragmentations involve prior rotation about the X-C bond.

Lipoic acid metabolism in Escherichia coli: sequencing and functional characterization of the lipA and lipB genes

Two genes, lipA and lipB, involved in lipoic acid biosynthesis or metabolism were characterized by DNA sequence analysis. The translational initiation site of the lipA gene was established, and the lipB gene product was identified as a 25-kDa protein. Overproduction of LipA resulted in the formation of inclusion bodies, from which the protein was readily purified. Cells grown under strictly anaerobic conditions required the lipA and lipB gene products for the synthesis of a functional glycine cleavage system. Mutants carrying a null mutation in the lipB gene retained a partial ability to synthesize lipoic acid and produced low levels of pyruvate dehydrogenase and alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase activities. The lipA gene product failed to convert protein-bound octanoic acid moieties to lipoic acid moieties in vivo; however, the growth of both lipA and lipB mutants was supported by either 6-thiooctanoic acid or 8-thiooctanoic acid in place of lipoic acid. These data suggest that LipA is required for the insertion of the first sulfur into the octanoic acid backbone. LipB functions downstream of LipA, but its role in lipoic acid metabolism remains unclear.