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Xue Y, Xiong Y, Huang W, Liu J, Liu W. Remodeling of ribosomally synthesized peptide backbones based on posttranslational modifications. Nat Prod Rep 2025. [PMID: 40392103 DOI: 10.1039/d5np00018a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2025]
Abstract
Covering: 2013-2024Benefiting significantly from recent advances in genome mining, ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptide (RiPP) natural products have emerged as a source of chemical inspiration to drive the discovery of therapeutic agents and the development of new biological tools for addressing challenges to synthetic approaches. Despite being confined to twenty proteinogenic amino acid building blocks, the structural complexity and diversity of RiPPs that arise from enzymatic posttranslational modifications (PTMs) surpass expectations and are now believed to be comparable to those produced by non-ribosomal peptide synthetases. Here, we highlight the PTM enzymes characterized over the past decade that engage the -(NH-Cα-CO)n- repeating units in transformations, particularly those leading to structural rearrangements by peptide backbone remodeling. Unveiling the catalytic mechanisms of these unusual PTM enzymes deepens the understanding in RiPP biosynthesis and, eventually, will enhance our capability of rational design, development and production of functional peptide agents using synthetic biology strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanqing Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism and School of Life Science & Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China.
| | - Yijiao Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism and School of Life Science & Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China.
| | - Wei Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China.
| | - Jianing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China.
| | - Wen Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism and School of Life Science & Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China.
- Zhangjiang Institute for Advanced Study, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1308 Keyuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
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2
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Xiong Y, Guo H, Liu W. Unveiling the Biosynthetic Logic of Nosiheptide Based on Reconstitution of Its Bicyclic Thiopeptide Scaffold. J Am Chem Soc 2025; 147:15847-15858. [PMID: 40276895 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c03922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2025]
Abstract
Thiopeptides, which share a macrocyclic framework characterized by a six-membered, nitrogen heterocycle central to multiple (thi)azol(in)es and dehydroamino acids, represent one of the most structurally complex groups of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs). Although post-translational modifications (PTMs) necessary for common framework formation were established, how bicyclic thiopeptides, which depend on additional specific enzyme activities to afford a side ring system, are formed remains poorly understood. Using the biosynthesis of nosiheptide as a model system, here, we report the first PTM logic to achieve a bicyclic thiopeptide based on in vivo and in vitro structural reconstitution. Eleven biosynthetic proteins are employed, processing the precursor peptide through the proper coordination of five PTM steps, of which three are common and two are specific: (1) formation of five thiazoles, (2) incorporation of an indolic moiety, (3) dehydration of five Ser/Thr residues, (4) indolic side ring closure, and (5) pyridine formation to establish the thiopeptide framework. Heterologous expression and biochemical characterization validated that the two macrocyclic ring systems are established in an interdependent and alternating manner. Distinct from tailoring PTMs, this study unveils a paradigm of a new PTM introduction for expanding the chemical and biological spaces during the establishment of the group-defining framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yijiao Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Heng Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Wen Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China
- School of Life Science & Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
- Zhangjiang Institute for Advanced Study, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1308 Keyuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
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3
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Rice AJ, Sword TT, Chengan K, Mitchell DA, Mouncey NJ, Moore SJ, Bailey CB. Cell-free synthetic biology for natural product biosynthesis and discovery. Chem Soc Rev 2025; 54:4314-4352. [PMID: 40104998 PMCID: PMC11920963 DOI: 10.1039/d4cs01198h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2025]
Abstract
Natural products have applications as biopharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and other high-value chemicals. However, there are challenges in isolating natural products from their native producers (e.g. bacteria, fungi, plants). In many cases, synthetic chemistry or heterologous expression must be used to access these important molecules. The biosynthetic machinery to generate these compounds is found within biosynthetic gene clusters, primarily consisting of the enzymes that biosynthesise a range of natural product classes (including, but not limited to ribosomal and nonribosomal peptides, polyketides, and terpenoids). Cell-free synthetic biology has emerged in recent years as a bottom-up technology applied towards both prototyping pathways and producing molecules. Recently, it has been applied to natural products, both to characterise biosynthetic pathways and produce new metabolites. This review discusses the core biochemistry of cell-free synthetic biology applied to metabolite production and critiques its advantages and disadvantages compared to whole cell and/or chemical production routes. Specifically, we review the advances in cell-free biosynthesis of ribosomal peptides, analyse the rapid prototyping of natural product biosynthetic enzymes and pathways, highlight advances in novel antimicrobial discovery, and discuss the rising use of cell-free technologies in industrial biotechnology and synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Rice
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine - Basic Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Research Building-IV, Nashville, Tennessee, 37232, USA
| | - Tien T Sword
- Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | | | - Douglas A Mitchell
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine - Basic Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Research Building-IV, Nashville, Tennessee, 37232, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Medical Research Building-IV, Nashville, Tennessee, 37232, USA
| | - Nigel J Mouncey
- DOE Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA
| | - Simon J Moore
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
| | - Constance B Bailey
- School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2001, Australia.
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4
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Ramos-Figueroa J, Liang H, van der Donk WA. Substrate recognition by a peptide-aminoacyl-tRNA ligase. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2025; 122:e2423858122. [PMID: 40106349 PMCID: PMC11962472 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2423858122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/18/2025] [Indexed: 03/22/2025] Open
Abstract
The continuing discovery of new peptide-aminoacyl-tRNA ligases (PEARLs) has unveiled a diverse array of enzymes with the unique potential to append amino acids to the C terminus of substrate peptides in an aminoacyl-tRNA-dependent manner. To date, PEARLs have been reported that can conjugate Cys, Ala, Trp, Gly, Leu, Asn, and Thr residues, but the basis of peptide substrate and aminoacyl-tRNA recognition is not known. Cell-free expression (CFE) has emerged as a powerful tool to rapidly assay activity of substrate variants, and we used the technique in this study to investigate the peptide substrate specificity of the PEARL [Formula: see text]. This enzyme that adds Trp was discovered previously during genome mining for ribosomally synthesized and posttranslational modified peptides (RiPPs). The enzyme is remarkably tolerant of changes to the C-terminal amino acid of the peptide substrate, and truncation and replacement experiments suggest a minimal sequence requirement. An AlphaFold3 model provided insights into binding interactions of the substrate peptide BhaA-Ala to [Formula: see text] and also generated predictions for tRNA, ATP, and Mg2+ binding modes that were tested by site-directed mutagenesis. The data suggest that several highly conserved residues in PEARLs recognize the 3'-CCA sequence present in all tRNAs. The minimal sequence required for Trp incorporation by [Formula: see text] was employed as a protein tag for C-terminal labeling of eGFP, lysozyme, and MBP with Trp and 5-Br-Trp.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josseline Ramos-Figueroa
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL61801
- HHMI, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL61801
| | - Haoqian Liang
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL61801
| | - Wilfred A. van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL61801
- HHMI, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL61801
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL61801
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5
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Glassey E, Zhang Z, King AM, Niquille DL, Voigt CA. De novo design of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides. Nat Chem 2025; 17:233-245. [PMID: 39774303 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-024-01685-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2024] [Indexed: 01/11/2025]
Abstract
In nature, peptides are enzymatically modified to constrain their structure and introduce functional moieties. De novo peptide structures could be built by combining enzymes from different pathways, but determining the rules of their use is difficult. We present a biophysical model to combine enzymes sourced from bacterial ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) gene clusters. Using a pipeline to evaluate more than 1,000 peptides, the model was parameterized under uniform conditions in Escherichia coli for enzymes from different classes (graspetide, spliceotide, pantocin, cyanobactin, glycocin, lasso peptide and lanthipeptide). Synthetic leader peptides with recognition sequences for up to three enzymes were designed to modify core sequences sharing no identity to natural RiPPs. Empirically, RiPPs with the desired modifications constituted 7-67% of the total peptides produced, and 6 of our 8 peptide designs were successfully modified. This work is an example of the design of enzyme-modified peptides and libraries, using a framework that can be expanded to include new enzymes and chemical moieties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emerson Glassey
- Synthetic Biology Center, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Zhengan Zhang
- Synthetic Biology Center, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Andrew M King
- Synthetic Biology Center, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - David L Niquille
- Synthetic Biology Center, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Christopher A Voigt
- Synthetic Biology Center, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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Wong DA, Shaver ZM, Cabezas MD, Daniel-Ivad M, Warfel KF, Prasanna DV, Sobol SE, Fernandez R, Nicol R, DeLisa MP, Balskus EP, Karim AS, Jewett MC. Development of cell-free platforms for discovering, characterizing, and engineering post-translational modifications. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.25.586624. [PMID: 39651187 PMCID: PMC11623507 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.25.586624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2024]
Abstract
Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are important for the stability and function of many therapeutic proteins and peptides. Current methods for studying and engineering PTM installing proteins often suffer from low-throughput experimental techniques. Here we describe a generalizable, in vitro workflow coupling cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) with AlphaLISA for the rapid expression and testing of PTM installing proteins. We apply our workflow to two representative classes of peptide and protein therapeutics: ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) and conjugate vaccines. First, we demonstrate how our workflow can be used to characterize the binding activity of RiPP recognition elements, an important first step in RiPP biosynthesis, and be integrated into a biodiscovery pipeline for computationally predicted RiPP products. Then, we adapt our workflow to study and engineer oligosaccharyltransferases (OSTs) involved in conjugate vaccine production, enabling the identification of mutant OSTs and sites within a carrier protein that enable high efficiency production of conjugate vaccines. In total, we expect that our workflow will accelerate design-build-test cycles for engineering PTMs.
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7
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Dashti Y, Mohammadipanah F, Zhang Y, Cerqueira Diaz PM, Vocat A, Zabala D, Fage CD, Romero-Canelon I, Bunk B, Spröer C, Alkhalaf LM, Overmann J, Cole ST, Challis GL. Discovery and Biosynthesis of Persiathiacins: Unusual Polyglycosylated Thiopeptides Active Against Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis. ACS Infect Dis 2024; 10:3378-3391. [PMID: 39189814 PMCID: PMC11406533 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.4c00502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/28/2024]
Abstract
Thiopeptides are ribosomally biosynthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) that potently inhibit the growth of Gram-positive bacteria by targeting multiple steps in protein biosynthesis. The poor pharmacological properties of thiopeptides, particularly their low aqueous solubility, has hindered their development into clinically useful antibiotics. Antimicrobial activity screens of a library of Actinomycetota extracts led to discovery of the novel polyglycosylated thiopeptides persiathiacins A and B from Actinokineospora sp. UTMC 2448. Persiathiacin A is active against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and several Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains, including drug-resistant and multidrug-resistant clinical isolates, and does not significantly affect the growth of ovarian cancer cells at concentrations up to 400 μM. Polyglycosylated thiopeptides are extremely rare and nothing is known about their biosynthesis. Sequencing and analysis of the Actinokineospora sp. UTMC 2448 genome enabled identification of the putative persiathiacin biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC). A cytochrome P450 encoded by this gene cluster catalyzes the hydroxylation of nosiheptide in vitro and in vivo, consistent with the proposal that the cluster directs persiathiacin biosynthesis. Several genes in the cluster encode homologues of enzymes known to catalyze the assembly and attachment of deoxysugars during the biosynthesis of other classes of glycosylated natural products. One of these encodes a glycosyl transferase that was shown to catalyze attachment of a D-glucose residue to nosiheptide in vitro. The discovery of the persiathiacins and their BGC thus provides the basis for the development of biosynthetic engineering approaches to the creation of novel (poly)glycosylated thiopeptide derivatives with enhanced pharmacological properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yousef Dashti
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, U.K
- Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2015, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Mohammadipanah
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Lab, School of Biology and Center of Excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Science, University of Tehran, 14155-6455 Tehran, Iran
| | - Yu Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, U.K
| | | | - Anthony Vocat
- Global Health Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 19, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Zabala
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, U.K
| | | | - Isolda Romero-Canelon
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, U.K
- School of Pharmacy, Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, U.K
| | - Boyke Bunk
- Leibniz-Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany
- Technical University of Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Cathrin Spröer
- Leibniz-Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany
- Technical University of Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Lona M Alkhalaf
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, U.K
| | - Jörg Overmann
- Leibniz-Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany
- Technical University of Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
- German Centre of Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hannover-Braunschweig, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Stewart T Cole
- Global Health Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 19, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Gregory L Challis
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, U.K
- Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, U.K
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton VIC 3168, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, Monash University, Clayton VIC 3168, Australia
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Purushothaman M, Chang L, Zhong RJ, Morinaka BI. The Triceptide Maturase OscB Catalyzes Uniform Cyclophane Topology and Accepts Diverse Gly-Rich Precursor Peptides. ACS Chem Biol 2024; 19:1229-1236. [PMID: 38742762 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.4c00087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Triceptides are a class of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides defined by an aromatic C(sp2) to Cβ(sp3) bond. The Gly-rich repeat family of triceptide maturases (TIGR04261) are paired with precursor peptides (TIGR04260) containing a Gly-rich core peptide. These maturases are prevalent in cyanobacteria and catalyze cyclophane formation on multiple Ω1-X2-X3 motifs (Ω1 = Trp and Phe) of the Gly-rich precursor peptide. The topology of the individual rings has not been completely elucidated, and the promiscuity of these enzymes is not known. In this study, we characterized all the cyclophane rings formed by the triceptide maturase OscB and show the ring topology is uniform with respect to the substitution at Trp-C7 and the atropisomerism (planar chirality). Additionally, the enzyme OscB demonstrated substrate promiscuity on Gly-rich precursors and can accommodate a diverse array of engineered sequences. These findings highlight the versatility and implications for using OscB as a biocatalyst for producing polycyclophane-containing peptides for biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mugilarasi Purushothaman
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, National University of Singapore, 4 Science Dr 2, Singapore 117544
| | - Litao Chang
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, National University of Singapore, 4 Science Dr 2, Singapore 117544
| | - Ryan Jian Zhong
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, National University of Singapore, 4 Science Dr 2, Singapore 117544
| | - Brandon I Morinaka
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, National University of Singapore, 4 Science Dr 2, Singapore 117544
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9
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Ramos Figueroa J, Zhu L, van der Donk WA. Unexpected Transformations during Pyrroloiminoquinone Biosynthesis. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:14235-14245. [PMID: 38719200 PMCID: PMC11117183 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c03677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024]
Abstract
Pyrroloiminoquinone-containing natural products have long been known for their biological activities. They are derived from tryptophan, but their biosynthetic pathways have remained elusive. Studies on the biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) that produces the ammosamides revealed that the first step is attachment of Trp to the C-terminus of a scaffold peptide in an ATP- and tRNA-dependent manner catalyzed by a PEptide Aminoacyl-tRNA Ligase (PEARL). The indole of Trp is then oxidized to a hydroxyquinone. We previously proposed a chemically plausible and streamlined pathway for converting this intermediate to the ammosamides using additional enzymes encoded in the BGC. In this study, we report the activity of four additional enzymes from two gene clusters, which show that the previously proposed pathway is incorrect and that Nature's route toward pyrroloiminoquinones is much more complicated. We demonstrate that, surprisingly, amino groups in pyrroloiminoquinones are derived from (at least) three different sources, glycine, asparagine, and leucine, all introduced in a tRNA-dependent manner. We also show that an FAD-dependent putative glycine oxidase (Amm14) is required for the process that incorporates the nitrogens from glycine and leucine and that a quinone reductase is required for the incorporation of asparagine. Additionally, we provide the first insights into the evolutionary origin of the PEARLs as well as related enzymes, such as the glutamyl-tRNA-dependent dehydratases involved in the biosynthesis of lanthipeptides and thiopeptides. These enzymes appear to all have descended from the ATP-GRASP protein family.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josseline Ramos Figueroa
- Department of Chemistry and
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University
of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Lingyang Zhu
- Department of Chemistry and
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University
of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Wilfred A. van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry and
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University
of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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10
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Figueroa JR, Zhu L, van der Donk WA. Unexpected transformations during pyrroloiminoquinone biosynthesis. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.12.584671. [PMID: 38559119 PMCID: PMC10979984 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.12.584671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Pyrroloiminoquinone containing natural products have long been known for their biological activities. They are derived from tryptophan, but their biosynthetic pathways have remained elusive. Studies on the biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) that produces the ammosamides revealed that the first step is attachment of Trp to the C-terminus of a scaffold peptide in an ATP and tRNA dependent manner catalyzed by a PEptide Amino-acyl tRNA ligase (PEARL). The indole of the Trp is then oxidized to a hydroxyquinone. We previously proposed a chemically plausible and streamlined pathway for converting this intermediate to the ammosamides using additional enzymes encoded in the BGC. In this study, we report the activity of four additional enzymes that show that the proposed pathway is incorrect and that Nature's route towards pyrroloiminoquinones is much more complicated. We demonstrate that, surprisingly, the amino groups in pyrroloiminoquinones are derived from three different sources, glycine, asparagine, and leucine, all introduced in a tRNA dependent manner. We also show that an FAD-dependent putative glycine oxidase is required for the process that incorporates the nitrogens from glycine and leucine, and that a quinone reductase is required for the incorporation of the asparagine. Additionally, we provide the first insights into the evolutionary origin of the PEARLs as well as related enzymes such as the glutamyl-tRNA dependent dehydratases involved in the biosynthesis of lanthipeptides and thiopeptides. These enzymes appear to all have descended from the ATP-GRASP protein family.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josseline Ramos Figueroa
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Lingyang Zhu
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Wilfred A. van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
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11
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Pei ZF, Zhu L, Nair SK. Core-dependent post-translational modifications guide the biosynthesis of a new class of hypermodified peptides. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7734. [PMID: 38007494 PMCID: PMC10676384 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43604-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPPs) class of natural products has undergone significant expansion due to the rapid growth in genome sequencing data. Using a bioinformatics approach, we identify the dehydrazoles, a novel class of hypermodified RiPPs that contain both side chain dehydration of Ser residues, and backbone heterocyclization at Ser, Thr, and Cys residues to the corresponding azol(in)es. Structure elucidation of the hypermodified peptide carnazolamide, a representative class member, shows that 18 post-translational modifications are installed by just five enzymes. Complete biosynthetic reconstitution demonstrates that dehydration is carried out by an unusual DUF4135 dehydration domain fused to a zinc-independent cyclase domain (CcaM). We demonstrate that CcaM only modifies Ser residues that precede an azole in the core peptide. As heterocyclization removes the carbonyl following the Ser residue, CcaM likely catalyzes dehydration without generating an enolate intermediate. Additionally, CcaM does not require the leader peptide, and this core-dependence effectively sets the order for the biosynthetic reactions. Biophysical studies demonstrate direct binding of azoles to CcaM consistent with this azole moiety-dependent dehydration. Bioinformatic analysis reveals more than 50 related biosynthetic gene clusters that contain additional catalysts that may produce structurally diverse scaffolds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeng-Fei Pei
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Lingyang Zhu
- School of Chemical Sciences, NMR Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Satish K Nair
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
- Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
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12
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Mordhorst S, Ruijne F, Vagstad AL, Kuipers OP, Piel J. Emulating nonribosomal peptides with ribosomal biosynthetic strategies. RSC Chem Biol 2023; 4:7-36. [PMID: 36685251 PMCID: PMC9811515 DOI: 10.1039/d2cb00169a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Peptide natural products are important lead structures for human drugs and many nonribosomal peptides possess antibiotic activity. This makes them interesting targets for engineering approaches to generate peptide analogues with, for example, increased bioactivities. Nonribosomal peptides are produced by huge mega-enzyme complexes in an assembly-line like manner, and hence, these biosynthetic pathways are challenging to engineer. In the past decade, more and more structural features thought to be unique to nonribosomal peptides were found in ribosomally synthesised and posttranslationally modified peptides as well. These streamlined ribosomal pathways with modifying enzymes that are often promiscuous and with gene-encoded precursor proteins that can be modified easily, offer several advantages to produce designer peptides. This review aims to provide an overview of recent progress in this emerging research area by comparing structural features common to both nonribosomal and ribosomally synthesised and posttranslationally modified peptides in the first part and highlighting synthetic biology strategies for emulating nonribosomal peptides by ribosomal pathway engineering in the second part.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silja Mordhorst
- Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4 8093 Zürich Switzerland
| | - Fleur Ruijne
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Anna L Vagstad
- Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4 8093 Zürich Switzerland
| | - Oscar P Kuipers
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Jörn Piel
- Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4 8093 Zürich Switzerland
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13
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Shelton KE, Mitchell DA. Bioinformatic prediction and experimental validation of RiPP recognition elements. Methods Enzymol 2022; 679:191-233. [PMID: 36682862 PMCID: PMC9871372 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2022.08.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are a family of natural products for which discovery efforts have rapidly grown over the past decade. There are currently 38 known RiPP classes encoded by prokaryotes. Half of the prokaryotic RiPP classes include a protein domain called the RiPP Recognition Element (RRE) for successful installation of post-translational modifications on a RiPP precursor peptide. In most cases, the RRE domain binds to the N-terminal "leader" region of the precursor peptide, facilitating enzymatic modification of the C-terminal "core" region. The prevalence of the RRE domain renders it a theoretically useful bioinformatic handle for class-independent RiPP discovery; however, first-in-class RiPPs have yet to be isolated and experimentally characterized using an RRE-centric strategy. Moreover, with most known RRE domains engaging their cognate precursor peptide(s) with high specificity and nanomolar affinity, evaluation of the residue-specific interactions that govern RRE:substrate complexation is a necessary first step to leveraging the RRE domain for various bioengineering applications. This chapter details protocols for developing custom bioinformatic models to predict and annotate RRE domains in a class-specific manner. Next, we outline methods for experimental validation of precursor peptide binding using fluorescence polarization binding assays and in vitro enzyme activity assays. We anticipate the methods herein will guide and enhance future critical analyses of the RRE domain, eventually enabling its future use as a customizable tool for molecular biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle E Shelton
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States; Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Douglas A Mitchell
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States; Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States; Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States.
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14
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Rice AJ, Pelton JM, Kramer NJ, Catlin DS, Nair SK, Pogorelov TV, Mitchell DA, Bowers AA. Enzymatic Pyridine Aromatization during Thiopeptide Biosynthesis. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:21116-21124. [PMID: 36351243 PMCID: PMC9955758 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c07377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Thiazole-containing pyritides (thiopeptides) are ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) that have attracted interest owing to their potent biological activities and structural complexity. The class-defining feature of a thiopeptide is a six-membered, nitrogenous heterocycle formed by an enzymatic [4 + 2]-cycloaddition. In rare cases, piperidine or dehydropiperidine (DHP) is present; however, the aromatized pyridine is considerably more common. Despite significant effort, the mechanism by which the central pyridine is formed remains poorly understood. Building on our recent observation of the Bycroft-Gowland intermediate (i.e., the direct product of the [4 + 2]-cycloaddition), we interrogated thiopeptide pyridine synthases using a combination of targeted mutagenesis, kinetic assays, substrate analogs, enzyme-substrate cross-linking, and chemical rescue experiments. Collectively, our data delineate roles for several conserved residues in thiopeptide pyridine synthases. A critical tyrosine facilitates the final aromatization step of pyridine formation. This work provides a foundation for further exploration of the [4 + 2]-cycloaddition reaction and future customization of pyridine-containing macrocyclic peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J. Rice
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Jarrett M. Pelton
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 301 Pharmacy Lane, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
| | - Nicholas J. Kramer
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 301 Pharmacy Lane, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
| | - Daniel S. Catlin
- Department of Biochemistry, Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Satish K. Nair
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,Department of Biochemistry, Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Taras V. Pogorelov
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 505 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1205 West Clark Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Douglas A. Mitchell
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Albert A. Bowers
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 301 Pharmacy Lane, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA,Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
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15
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Nanudorn P, Thiengmag S, Biermann F, Erkoc P, Dirnberger SD, Phan TN, Fürst R, Ueoka R, Helfrich EJN. Atropopeptides are a Novel Family of Ribosomally Synthesized and Posttranslationally Modified Peptides with a Complex Molecular Shape. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2022; 61:e202208361. [PMID: 35939298 PMCID: PMC9826248 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202208361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Biomacromolecules are known to feature complex three-dimensional shapes that are essential for their function. Among natural products, ambiguous molecular shapes are a rare phenomenon. The hexapeptide tryptorubin A can adopt one of two unusual atropisomeric configurations. Initially hypothesized to be a non-ribosomal peptide, we show that tryptorubin A is the first characterized member of a new family of ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptides (RiPPs) that we named atropopeptides. The sole modifying enzyme encoded in the gene cluster, a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, is responsible for the atropospecific formation of one carbon-carbon and two carbon-nitrogen bonds. The characterization of two additional atropopeptide biosynthetic pathways revealed a two-step maturation process. Atropopeptides promote pro-angiogenic cell functions as indicated by an increase in endothelial cell proliferation and undirected migration. Our study expands the biochemical space of RiPP-modifying enzymes and paves the way towards the chemoenzymatic utilization of atropopeptide-modifying P450s.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pakjira Nanudorn
- Institute for Molecular Bio ScienceGoethe University FrankfurtMax-von-Laue Strasse 960438Frankfurt am MainGermany,LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG)Senckenberganlage 2560325Frankfurt am MainGermany
| | - Sirinthra Thiengmag
- Institute for Molecular Bio ScienceGoethe University FrankfurtMax-von-Laue Strasse 960438Frankfurt am MainGermany,LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG)Senckenberganlage 2560325Frankfurt am MainGermany
| | - Friederike Biermann
- Institute for Molecular Bio ScienceGoethe University FrankfurtMax-von-Laue Strasse 960438Frankfurt am MainGermany,LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG)Senckenberganlage 2560325Frankfurt am MainGermany
| | - Pelin Erkoc
- LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG)Senckenberganlage 2560325Frankfurt am MainGermany,Institute of Pharmaceutical BiologyGoethe University FrankfurtMax-von-Laue Strasse 960438FrankfurtGermany
| | - Sabrina D. Dirnberger
- Institute for Molecular Bio ScienceGoethe University FrankfurtMax-von-Laue Strasse 960438Frankfurt am MainGermany,LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG)Senckenberganlage 2560325Frankfurt am MainGermany
| | - Thao N. Phan
- Institute for Molecular Bio ScienceGoethe University FrankfurtMax-von-Laue Strasse 960438Frankfurt am MainGermany,LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG)Senckenberganlage 2560325Frankfurt am MainGermany
| | - Robert Fürst
- LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG)Senckenberganlage 2560325Frankfurt am MainGermany,Institute of Pharmaceutical BiologyGoethe University FrankfurtMax-von-Laue Strasse 960438FrankfurtGermany
| | - Reiko Ueoka
- School of Marine BiosciencesKitasato University1-15-1 Kitasato, Minami-kuSagamiharaKanagawa, 252-0373Japan
| | - Eric J. N. Helfrich
- Institute for Molecular Bio ScienceGoethe University FrankfurtMax-von-Laue Strasse 960438Frankfurt am MainGermany,LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG)Senckenberganlage 2560325Frankfurt am MainGermany
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16
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Glassey E, King AM, Anderson DA, Zhang Z, Voigt CA. Functional expression of diverse post-translational peptide-modifying enzymes in Escherichia coli under uniform expression and purification conditions. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0266488. [PMID: 36121811 PMCID: PMC9484694 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
RiPPs (ribosomally-synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides) are a class of pharmaceutically-relevant natural products expressed as precursor peptides before being enzymatically processed into their final functional forms. Bioinformatic methods have illuminated hundreds of thousands of RiPP enzymes in sequence databases and the number of characterized chemical modifications is growing rapidly; however, it remains difficult to functionally express them in a heterologous host. One challenge is peptide stability, which we addressed by designing a RiPP stabilization tag (RST) based on a small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) domain that can be fused to the N- or C-terminus of the precursor peptide and proteolytically removed after modification. This is demonstrated to stabilize expression of eight RiPPs representative of diverse phyla. Further, using Escherichia coli for heterologous expression, we identify a common set of media and growth conditions where 24 modifying enzymes, representative of diverse chemistries, are functional. The high success rate and broad applicability of this system facilitates: (i) RiPP discovery through high-throughput “mining” and (ii) artificial combination of enzymes from different pathways to create a desired peptide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emerson Glassey
- Department of Biological Engineering, Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Andrew M. King
- Department of Biological Engineering, Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Daniel A. Anderson
- Department of Biological Engineering, Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Zhengan Zhang
- Department of Biological Engineering, Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Christopher A. Voigt
- Department of Biological Engineering, Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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17
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Nanudorn P, Thiengmag S, Biermann F, Erkoc P, Dirnberger SD, Phan TN, Fürst R, Ueoka R, Helfrich EJN. Atropopeptides are a Novel Family of Ribosomally Synthesized and Posttranslationally Modified Peptides with a Complex Molecular Shape. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202208361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Pakjira Nanudorn
- Goethe University Frankfurt: Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main Institute for Molecular Bio Science Biozentrum Building 250Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9 60438 Frankfurt GERMANY
| | - Sirinthra Thiengmag
- Goethe University Frankfurt: Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main Institute for Molecular Bio Science Biozentrum Building 250Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9 60438 Frankfurt GERMANY
| | - Friederike Biermann
- Goethe University Frankfurt: Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main Institute for Molecular Bio Science Biozentrum Building 250Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9 60438 Frankfurt GERMANY
| | - Pelin Erkoc
- Goethe University Frankfurt: Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology Biozentrum Building 230Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9 60438 Frankfurt GERMANY
| | - Sabrina Doris Dirnberger
- Goethe University Frankfurt: Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main Institute for Molecular Bio Science Biozentrum Building 250Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9 60438 Frankfurt GERMANY
| | - Thao Ngoc Phan
- Goethe University Frankfurt: Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main Institute for Molecular Bio Science Biozentrum Building 250Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9 60438 Frankfurt GERMANY
| | - Robert Fürst
- Goethe University Frankfurt: Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology Biozentrum Building 230Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9 60438 Frankfurt GERMANY
| | - Reiko Ueoka
- Kitasato University: Kitasato Daigaku School of Marine Biosciences 1-15-1 KitasatoMinami-kuSagamihara 252-0373 Kanagawa JAPAN
| | - Eric Jan Nikolaus Helfrich
- Goethe University Frankfurt: Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main Molecular Bio Science Biozentrum Building 250Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9 60438 Frankfurt GERMANY
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18
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Nguyen DT, Le TT, Rice AJ, Hudson GA, van der Donk WA, Mitchell DA. Accessing Diverse Pyridine-Based Macrocyclic Peptides by a Two-Site Recognition Pathway. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:11263-11269. [PMID: 35713415 PMCID: PMC9247985 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c02824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Macrocyclic peptides are sought-after molecular scaffolds for drug discovery, and new methods to access diverse libraries are of increasing interest. Here, we report the enzymatic synthesis of pyridine-based macrocyclic peptides (pyritides) from linear precursor peptides. Pyritides are a recently described class of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) and are related to the long-known thiopeptide natural products. RiPP precursors typically contain an N-terminal leader region that is physically engaged by the biosynthetic proteins that catalyze modification of the C-terminal core region of the precursor peptide. We demonstrate that pyritide-forming enzymes recognize both the leader region and a C-terminal tripeptide motif, with each contributing to site-selective substrate modification. Substitutions in the core region were well-tolerated and facilitated the generation of a wide range of pyritide analogues, with variations in macrocycle sequence and size. A combination of the pyritide biosynthetic pathway with azole-forming enzymes was utilized to generate a thiazole-containing pyritide (historically known as a thiopeptide) with no similarity in sequence and macrocycle size to the naturally encoded pyritides. The broad substrate scope of the pyritide biosynthetic enzymes serves as a future platform for macrocyclic peptide lead discovery and optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dinh T. Nguyen
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Illinois at
Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Carl
R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Howard
Hughes Medical Institute, University of
Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Tung T. Le
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Illinois at
Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Howard
Hughes Medical Institute, University of
Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Andrew J. Rice
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Illinois at
Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Carl
R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Graham A. Hudson
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Illinois at
Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Carl
R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Wilfred A. van der Donk
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Illinois at
Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Carl
R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Howard
Hughes Medical Institute, University of
Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Douglas A. Mitchell
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Illinois at
Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Carl
R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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19
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Abstract
The past decade has seen impressive advances in understanding the biosynthesis of ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptides (RiPPs). One of the most common modifications found in these natural products is macrocyclization, a strategy also used by medicinal chemists to improve metabolic stability and target affinity and specificity. Another tool of the peptide chemist, modification of the amides in a peptide backbone, has also been observed in RiPPs. This review discusses the molecular mechanisms of biosynthesis of a subset of macrocyclic RiPP families, chosen because of the unusual biochemistry involved: the five classes of lanthipeptides (thioether cyclization by Michael-type addition), sactipeptides and ranthipeptides (thioether cyclization by radical chemistry), thiopeptides (cyclization by [4+2] cycloaddition), and streptide (cyclization by radical C-C bond formation). In addition, the mechanisms of backbone amide methylation, backbone epimerization, and backbone thioamide formation are discussed, as well as an unusual route to small molecules by posttranslational modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyunji Lee
- Department of Chemistry and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA;
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA;
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
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20
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Pei ZF, Yang MJ, Zhang K, Jian XH, Tang GL. Heterologous characterization of mechercharmycin A biosynthesis reveals alternative insights into post-translational modifications for RiPPs. Cell Chem Biol 2021; 29:650-659.e5. [PMID: 34474009 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2021.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Revised: 06/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Mechercharmycin A (MCM-A) is a marine natural product belonging to a family of polyazole cyclopeptides with remarkable bioactivities and unique structures. Identification, heterologous expression, and genetic characterizations of the MCM biosynthetic gene cluster in Bacillus subtilis revealed that it is a ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) possessing complex with distinctive modifications. Based on this heterologous expression system, two MCM analogs with comparable antitumor activity are generated by engineering the biosynthetic pathway. Combinatorial co-production of a precursor peptide with different modifying enzymes in Escherichia coli identifies a different timing of modifications, showing that a tRNAGlu-dependent highly regioselective dehydration is the first modification step, followed by polyazole formation through heterocyclization and dehydrogenation in an N- to C-terminal direction. Therefore, a rational biosynthetic pathway of MCMs is proposed, which unveils a subfamily of azol(in)e-containing RiPPs and sets the stage for further investigations of the enzymatic mechanism and synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeng-Fei Pei
- State Key Laboratory of Bio-organic and Natural Products Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Min-Jie Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Bio-organic and Natural Products Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Kai Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Bio-organic and Natural Products Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Xiao-Hong Jian
- College of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Zigong 643000, China
| | - Gong-Li Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Bio-organic and Natural Products Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China; School of Chemistry and Material Sciences, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 Sub-lane Xiangshan, Hangzhou 310024, China.
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21
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Vinogradov AA, Nagano M, Goto Y, Suga H. Site-Specific Nonenzymatic Peptide S/O-Glutamylation Reveals the Extent of Substrate Promiscuity in Glutamate Elimination Domains. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:13358-13369. [PMID: 34392675 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c06470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Formation of dehydroalanine and dehydrobutyrine residues via tRNA-dependent dehydration of serine and threonine is a key post-translational modification in the biosynthesis of lanthipeptide and thiopeptide RiPPs. The dehydration process involves two reactions, wherein the O-glutamyl Ser/Thr intermediate, accessed by a dedicated enzyme utilizing Glu-tRNAGlu as the acyl donor, is recognized by the second enzyme, referred to as the glutamate elimination domain (ED), which catalyzes the eponymous reaction yielding a dehydroamino acid. Many details of ED catalysis remain unexplored because the scope of available substrates for testing is limited to those that the upstream enzymes can furnish. Here, we report two complementary strategies for direct, nonenzymatic access to diverse ED substrates. We establish that a thiol-thioester exchange reaction between a Cys-containing peptide and an α thioester of glutamic acid leads an S-glutamylated intermediate which can act as a substrate for EDs. Furthermore, we show that the native O-glutamylated substrates can be accessible from S-glutamylated peptides upon a site-specific S-to-O acyl transfer reaction. Combined with flexible in vitro translation utilized for rapid peptide production, these chemistries enabled us to dissect the substrate recognition requirements of three known EDs. Our results establish that EDs are uniquely promiscuous enzymes capable of acting on substrates with arbitrary amino acid sequences and performing retro-Michael reaction beyond the canonical glutamate elimination. To facilitate substrate recruitment, EDs apparently engage in nonspecific hydrophobic interactions with their substrates. Altogether, our results establish the substrate scope of EDs and provide clues to their catalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander A Vinogradov
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Masanobu Nagano
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Yuki Goto
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Suga
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
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22
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Franz L, Kazmaier U, Truman AW, Koehnke J. Bottromycins - biosynthesis, synthesis and activity. Nat Prod Rep 2021; 38:1659-1683. [PMID: 33621290 DOI: 10.1039/d0np00097c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Covering: 1950s up to the end of 2020Bottromycins are a class of macrocyclic peptide natural products that are produced by several Streptomyces species and possess promising antibacterial activity against clinically relevant multidrug-resistant pathogens. They belong to the ribosomally synthesised and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) superfamily of natural products. The structure contains a unique four-amino acid macrocycle formed via a rare amidine linkage, C-methylation and a d-amino acid. This review covers all aspects of bottromycin research with a focus on recent years (2009-2020), in which major advances in total synthesis and understanding of bottromycin biosynthesis were achieved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Franz
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Saarland University Campus, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Uli Kazmaier
- Saarland University, Organic Chemistry, Campus Geb. C4.2, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Andrew W Truman
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK
| | - Jesko Koehnke
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Saarland University Campus, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany and School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
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23
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Combinatorial biosynthesis for the generation of new-to-nature peptide antimicrobials. Biochem Soc Trans 2021; 49:203-215. [PMID: 33439248 DOI: 10.1042/bst20200425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 11/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Natural peptide products are a valuable source of important therapeutic agents, including antibiotics, antivirals and crop protection agents. Aided by an increased understanding of structure-activity relationships of these complex molecules and the biosynthetic machineries that produce them, it has become possible to re-engineer complete machineries and biosynthetic pathways to create novel products with improved pharmacological properties or modified structures to combat antimicrobial resistance. In this review, we will address the progress that has been made using non-ribosomally produced peptides and ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides as scaffolds for designed biosynthetic pathways or combinatorial synthesis for the creation of novel peptide antimicrobials.
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24
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Lu J, Li Y, Bai Z, Lv H, Wang H. Enzymatic macrocyclization of ribosomally synthesized and posttranslational modified peptides via C-S and C-C bond formation. Nat Prod Rep 2021; 38:981-992. [PMID: 33185226 DOI: 10.1039/d0np00044b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Covering: 2000 to 2020 Ribosomally synthesized and posttranslational modified peptides (RiPPs) are a rapidly growing class of bioactive natural products. Many members of RiPPs contain macrocyclic structural units constructed by modification enzymes through macrocyclization of linear precursor peptides. In this study, we summarize recent progress in the macrocyclization of RiPPs by C-S and C-C bond formation with a focus on the current understanding of the enzymatic mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingxia Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center of Nanjing University, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Organic Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
| | - Yuqing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center of Nanjing University, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Organic Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
| | - Zengbing Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center of Nanjing University, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Organic Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
| | - Hongmei Lv
- State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center of Nanjing University, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Organic Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
| | - Huan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center of Nanjing University, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Organic Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
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25
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Montalbán-López M, Scott TA, Ramesh S, Rahman IR, van Heel AJ, Viel JH, Bandarian V, Dittmann E, Genilloud O, Goto Y, Grande Burgos MJ, Hill C, Kim S, Koehnke J, Latham JA, Link AJ, Martínez B, Nair SK, Nicolet Y, Rebuffat S, Sahl HG, Sareen D, Schmidt EW, Schmitt L, Severinov K, Süssmuth RD, Truman AW, Wang H, Weng JK, van Wezel GP, Zhang Q, Zhong J, Piel J, Mitchell DA, Kuipers OP, van der Donk WA. New developments in RiPP discovery, enzymology and engineering. Nat Prod Rep 2021; 38:130-239. [PMID: 32935693 PMCID: PMC7864896 DOI: 10.1039/d0np00027b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 488] [Impact Index Per Article: 122.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Covering: up to June 2020Ribosomally-synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are a large group of natural products. A community-driven review in 2013 described the emerging commonalities in the biosynthesis of RiPPs and the opportunities they offered for bioengineering and genome mining. Since then, the field has seen tremendous advances in understanding of the mechanisms by which nature assembles these compounds, in engineering their biosynthetic machinery for a wide range of applications, and in the discovery of entirely new RiPP families using bioinformatic tools developed specifically for this compound class. The First International Conference on RiPPs was held in 2019, and the meeting participants assembled the current review describing new developments since 2013. The review discusses the new classes of RiPPs that have been discovered, the advances in our understanding of the installation of both primary and secondary post-translational modifications, and the mechanisms by which the enzymes recognize the leader peptides in their substrates. In addition, genome mining tools used for RiPP discovery are discussed as well as various strategies for RiPP engineering. An outlook section presents directions for future research.
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26
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Kloosterman AM, Medema MH, van Wezel GP. Omics-based strategies to discover novel classes of RiPP natural products. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2020; 69:60-67. [PMID: 33383297 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2020.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) form a highly diverse class of natural products, with various biotechnologically and clinically relevant activities. A recent increase in discoveries of novel RiPP classes suggests that currently known RiPPs constitute just the tip of the iceberg. Genome mining has been a driving force behind these discoveries, but remains challenging due to a lack of universal genetic markers for RiPP detection. In this review, we discuss how various genome mining methodologies contribute towards the discovery of novel RiPP classes. Some methods prioritize novel biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) based on shared modifications between RiPP classes. Other methods identify RiPP precursors using machine-learning classifiers. The integration of such methods as well as integration with other types of omics data in more comprehensive pipelines could help these tools reach their potential, and keep pushing the boundaries of the chemical diversity of this important class of molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marnix H Medema
- Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Gilles P van Wezel
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Sylviusweg 72, 2333BE Leiden, The Netherlands.
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27
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Chan DCK, Burrows LL. Thiopeptides: antibiotics with unique chemical structures and diverse biological activities. J Antibiot (Tokyo) 2020; 74:161-175. [PMID: 33349675 DOI: 10.1038/s41429-020-00387-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Thiopeptides are a class of natural product antibiotics with diverse structures and functions. Their complex structures and biosynthesis have intrigued researchers since their discovery in 1948, but not a single thiopeptide has been approved for human use. This is mainly due to their poor solubility, challenging synthesis, and low bioavailability. This review summarizes the current research on the biosynthesis and biological activity of thiopeptide antibiotics since 2015. The focus of research since 2015 has been on uncovering biosynthetic routes, developing methods for total synthesis, and understanding the biological activity of thiopeptides. Overall, there is still much to learn about this family of molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek C K Chan
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.,Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Diseases Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Lori L Burrows
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. .,Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Diseases Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
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28
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Adam S, Franz L, Milhim M, Bernhardt R, Kalinina OV, Koehnke J. Characterization of the Stereoselective P450 Enzyme BotCYP Enables the In Vitro Biosynthesis of the Bottromycin Core Scaffold. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:20560-20565. [PMID: 33249843 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c10361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Bottromycins are ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide natural product antibiotics that are effective against high-priority human pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The total synthesis of bottromycins involves at least 17 steps, with a poor overall yield. Here, we report the characterization of the cytochrome P450 enzyme BotCYP from a bottromycin biosynthetic gene cluster. We determined the structure of a close BotCYP homolog and used our data to conduct the first large-scale survey of P450 enzymes associated with RiPP biosynthetic gene clusters. We demonstrate that BotCYP converts a C-terminal thiazoline to a thiazole via an oxidative decarboxylation reaction and provides stereochemical resolution for the pathway. Our data enable the two-pot in vitro production of the bottromycin core scaffold and may allow the rapid generation of bottromycin analogues for compound development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Adam
- Workgroup Structural Biology of Biosynthetic Enzymes, Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Saarland University, Campus Geb. E8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Laura Franz
- Workgroup Structural Biology of Biosynthetic Enzymes, Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Saarland University, Campus Geb. E8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Mohammed Milhim
- Department of Biochemistry, Saarland University, Campus Geb. B2.2, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Rita Bernhardt
- Department of Biochemistry, Saarland University, Campus Geb. B2.2, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Olga V Kalinina
- Research Group Drug Bioinformatics, HIPS, HZI, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany.,Faculty of Medicine, Saarland University, 66424 Homburg, Germany
| | - Jesko Koehnke
- Workgroup Structural Biology of Biosynthetic Enzymes, Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Saarland University, Campus Geb. E8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany.,School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K
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29
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Georgiou MA, Dommaraju SR, Guo X, Mast DH, Mitchell DA. Bioinformatic and Reactivity-Based Discovery of Linaridins. ACS Chem Biol 2020; 15:2976-2985. [PMID: 33170617 PMCID: PMC7680433 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.0c00620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Linaridins are members of the ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) family of natural products. Five linaridins have been reported, which are defined by the presence of dehydrobutyrine, a dehydrated, alkene-containing amino acid derived from threonine. This work describes the development of a linaridin-specific scoring module for Rapid ORF Description and Evaluation Online (RODEO), a genome-mining tool tailored toward RiPP discovery. Upon mining publicly accessible genomes available in the NCBI database, RODEO identified 561 (382 nonredundant) linaridin biosynthetic gene clusters. Linaridin BGCs with unique gene architectures and precursor sequences markedly different from previous predictions were uncovered during these efforts. To aid in data set validation, two new linaridins, pegvadin A and B, were detected through reactivity-based screening and isolated from Streptomyces noursei and Streptomyces auratus, respectively. Reactivity-based screening involves the use of a probe that chemoselectively modifies an organic functional group present in the natural product. The dehydrated amino acids present in linaridins as α/β-unsaturated carbonyls were appropriate electrophiles for nucleophilic 1,4-addition using a thiol-functionalized probe. The data presented within significantly expand the number of predicted linaridin biosynthetic gene clusters and serve as a roadmap for future work in the area. The combination of bioinformatics and reactivity-based screening is a powerful approach to accelerate natural product discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A. Georgiou
- Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Shravan R. Dommaraju
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Xiaorui Guo
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - David H. Mast
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Douglas A. Mitchell
- Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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30
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Abstract
Bioinformatics-powered discovery of novel ribosomal natural products (RiPPs) has historically been hindered by the lack of a common genetic feature across RiPP classes. Herein, we introduce RRE-Finder, a method for identifying RRE domains, which are present in a majority of prokaryotic RiPP biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). RRE-Finder identifies RRE domains 3,000 times faster than current methods, which rely on time-consuming secondary structure prediction. Depending on user goals, RRE-Finder can operate in precision mode to accurately identify RREs present in known RiPP classes or in exploratory mode to assist with novel RiPP discovery. Employing RRE-Finder on the UniProtKB database revealed several high-confidence RREs in novel RiPP-like clusters, suggesting that many new RiPP classes remain to be discovered. Many ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptide classes (RiPPs) are reliant on a domain called the RiPP recognition element (RRE). The RRE binds specifically to a precursor peptide and directs the posttranslational modification enzymes to their substrates. Given its prevalence across various types of RiPP biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), the RRE could theoretically be used as a bioinformatic handle to identify novel classes of RiPPs. In addition, due to the high affinity and specificity of most RRE-precursor peptide complexes, a thorough understanding of the RRE domain could be exploited for biotechnological applications. However, sequence divergence of RREs across RiPP classes has precluded automated identification based solely on sequence similarity. Here, we introduce RRE-Finder, a new tool for identifying RRE domains with high sensitivity. RRE-Finder can be used in precision mode to confidently identify RREs in a class-specific manner or in exploratory mode to assist in the discovery of novel RiPP classes. RRE-Finder operating in precision mode on the UniProtKB protein database retrieved ∼25,000 high-confidence RREs spanning all characterized RRE-dependent RiPP classes, as well as several yet-uncharacterized RiPP classes that require future experimental confirmation. Finally, RRE-Finder was used in precision mode to explore a possible evolutionary origin of the RRE domain. The results suggest RREs originated from a co-opted DNA-binding transcriptional regulator domain. Altogether, RRE-Finder provides a powerful new method to probe RiPP biosynthetic diversity and delivers a rich data set of RRE sequences that will provide a foundation for deeper biochemical studies into this intriguing and versatile protein domain. IMPORTANCE Bioinformatics-powered discovery of novel ribosomal natural products (RiPPs) has historically been hindered by the lack of a common genetic feature across RiPP classes. Herein, we introduce RRE-Finder, a method for identifying RRE domains, which are present in a majority of prokaryotic RiPP biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). RRE-Finder identifies RRE domains 3,000 times faster than current methods, which rely on time-consuming secondary structure prediction. Depending on user goals, RRE-Finder can operate in precision mode to accurately identify RREs present in known RiPP classes or in exploratory mode to assist with novel RiPP discovery. Employing RRE-Finder on the UniProtKB database revealed several high-confidence RREs in novel RiPP-like clusters, suggesting that many new RiPP classes remain to be discovered.
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31
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Hudson GA, Hooper AR, DiCaprio AJ, Sarlah D, Mitchell DA. Structure Prediction and Synthesis of Pyridine-Based Macrocyclic Peptide Natural Products. Org Lett 2020; 23:253-256. [PMID: 32845158 DOI: 10.1021/acs.orglett.0c02699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The structural and functional characterization of natural products is vastly outpaced by the bioinformatic identification of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) that encode such molecules. Uniting our knowledge of bioinformatics and enzymology to predict and synthetically access natural products is an effective platform for investigating cryptic/silent BGCs. We report the identification, biosynthesis, and total synthesis of a minimalistic class of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) with the responsible BGCs encoding a subset of enzymes known from thiopeptide biosynthesis. On the basis of the BGC content, these RiPPs were predicted to undergo enzymatic dehydration of serine followed by [4+2]-cycloaddition to produce a trisubstituted, pyridine-based macrocycle. These RiPPs, termed "pyritides", thus contain the same six-membered, nitrogenous heterocycle that defines the thiopeptide RiPP class but lack the ubiquitous thiazole/thiazoline heterocycles, suggesting that thiopeptides should be reclassified as a more elaborate subclass of the pyritides. One pyritide product was obtained using an 11-step synthesis, and the structure verified by an orthogonal chemoenzymatic route using the precursor peptide and cognate pyridine synthase. This work exemplifies complementary bioinformatics, enzymology, and synthesis to characterize a minimalistic yet structurally intriguing scaffold that, unlike most thiopeptides, lacks growth-suppressive activity toward Gram-positive bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Graham A Hudson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Annie R Hooper
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Adam J DiCaprio
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - David Sarlah
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Douglas A Mitchell
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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32
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Vinogradov AA, Shimomura M, Kano N, Goto Y, Onaka H, Suga H. Promiscuous Enzymes Cooperate at the Substrate Level En Route to Lactazole A. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:13886-13897. [PMID: 32664727 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c05541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) often have relaxed specificity profiles and are able to modify diverse substrates. When several such enzymes act together during precursor peptide maturation, a multitude of products can form, yet usually the biosynthesis converges on a single natural product. For the most part, the mechanisms controlling the integrity of RiPP assembly remain elusive. Here, we investigate the biosynthesis of lactazole A, a model thiopeptide produced by five promiscuous enzymes from a ribosomal precursor peptide. Using our in vitro thiopeptide production (FIT-Laz) system, we determine the order of biosynthetic events at the individual modification level and supplement this study with substrate scope analysis for participating enzymes. Our results reveal an unusual but well-defined assembly process where cyclodehydration, dehydroalanine formation, and azoline dehydrogenation events are intertwined due to minimal substrate recognition requirements characteristic of every lactazole enzyme. Additionally, each enzyme plays a role in directing LazBF-mediated dehydroalanine formation, which emerges as the central theme of the assembly process. Cyclodehydratase LazDE discriminates a single serine residue for azoline formation, leaving the remaining five as potential dehydratase substrates. Pyridine synthase LazC exerts kinetic control over LazBF to prevent the formation of overdehydrated thiopeptides, whereas the coupling of dehydrogenation to dehydroalanine installation impedes generation of underdehydrated products. Altogether, our results indicate that substrate-level cooperation between the biosynthetic enzymes maintains the integrity of lactazole assembly. This work advances our understanding of RiPP biosynthesis processes and facilitates thiopeptide bioengineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander A Vinogradov
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | | | - Naokazu Kano
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Gakushuin University, 1-5-1 Mejiro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-8588, Japan
| | - Yuki Goto
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | | | - Hiroaki Suga
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
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33
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Bogart JW, Kramer NJ, Turlik A, Bleich RM, Catlin DS, Schroeder FC, Nair SK, Williamson RT, Houk KN, Bowers AA. Interception of the Bycroft-Gowland Intermediate in the Enzymatic Macrocyclization of Thiopeptides. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:13170-13179. [PMID: 32609512 PMCID: PMC7429253 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c05639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Thiopeptides are a broad class of macrocyclic, heavily modified peptide natural products that are unified by the presence of a substituted, nitrogen-containing heterocycle core. Early work indicated that this core might be fashioned from two dehydroalanines by an enzyme-catalyzed aza-[4 + 2] cycloaddition to give a cyclic-hemiaminal intermediate. This common intermediate could then follow a reductive path toward a dehydropiperidine, as in the thiopeptide thiostrepton, or an aromatization path to yield the pyridine groups observed in many other thiopeptides. Although several of the enzymes proposed to perform this cycloaddition have been reconstituted, only pyridine products have been isolated and any hemiaminal intermediates have yet to be observed. Here, we identify the conditions and substrates that decouple the cycloaddition from subsequent steps and allow interception and characterization of this long hypothesized intermediate. Transition state modeling indicates that the key amide-iminol tautomerization is the major hurdle in an otherwise energetically favorable cycloaddition. An anionic model suggests that deprotonation and polarization of this amide bond by TbtD removes this barrier and provides a sufficient driving force for facile (stepwise) cycloaddition. This work provides evidence for a mechanistic link between disparate cyclases in thiopeptide biosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan W. Bogart
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
| | - Nicholas J. Kramer
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
| | - Aneta Turlik
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Rachel M. Bleich
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
| | - Daniel S. Catlin
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801
| | - Frank C. Schroeder
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Satish K. Nair
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801
- Center for Biophysics and Computational Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - R. Thomas Williamson
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403, USA
| | - K. N. Houk
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Albert A. Bowers
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
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34
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Vinogradov AA, Suga H. Introduction to Thiopeptides: Biological Activity, Biosynthesis, and Strategies for Functional Reprogramming. Cell Chem Biol 2020; 27:1032-1051. [PMID: 32698017 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2020.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Thiopeptides (also known as thiazolyl peptides) are structurally complex natural products with rich biological activities. Known for over 70 years for potent killing of Gram-positive bacteria, thiopeptides are experiencing a resurgence of interest in the last decade, primarily brought about by the genomic revolution of the 21st century. Every area of thiopeptide research-from elucidating their biological function and biosynthesis to expanding their structural diversity through genome mining-has made great strides in recent years. These advances lay the foundation for and inspire novel strategies for thiopeptide engineering. Accordingly, a number of diverse approaches are being actively pursued in the hope of developing the next generation of natural-product-inspired therapeutics. Here, we review the contemporary understanding of thiopeptide biological activities, biosynthetic pathways, and approaches to structural and functional reprogramming, with a special focus on the latter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander A Vinogradov
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
| | - Hiroaki Suga
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
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35
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Walker MC, Eslami SM, Hetrick KJ, Ackenhusen SE, Mitchell DA, van der Donk WA. Precursor peptide-targeted mining of more than one hundred thousand genomes expands the lanthipeptide natural product family. BMC Genomics 2020; 21:387. [PMID: 32493223 PMCID: PMC7268733 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-06785-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lanthipeptides belong to the ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide group of natural products and have a variety of biological activities ranging from antibiotics to antinociceptives. These peptides are cyclized through thioether crosslinks and can bear other secondary post-translational modifications. While lanthipeptide biosynthetic gene clusters can be identified by the presence of genes encoding characteristic enzymes involved in the post-translational modification process, locating the precursor peptides encoded within these clusters is challenging due to their short length and high sequence variability, which limits the high-throughput exploration of lanthipeptide biosynthesis. To address this challenge, we enhanced the predictive capabilities of Rapid ORF Description & Evaluation Online (RODEO) to identify members of all four known classes of lanthipeptides. RESULTS Using RODEO, we mined over 100,000 bacterial and archaeal genomes in the RefSeq database. We identified nearly 8500 lanthipeptide precursor peptides. These precursor peptides were identified in a broad range of bacterial phyla as well as the Euryarchaeota phylum of archaea. Bacteroidetes were found to encode a large number of these biosynthetic gene clusters, despite making up a relatively small portion of the genomes in this dataset. A number of these precursor peptides are similar to those of previously characterized lanthipeptides, but even more were not, including potential antibiotics. One such new antimicrobial lanthipeptide was purified and characterized. Additionally, examination of the biosynthetic gene clusters revealed that enzymes installing secondary post-translational modifications are more widespread than initially thought. CONCLUSION Lanthipeptide biosynthetic gene clusters are more widely distributed and the precursor peptides encoded within these clusters are more diverse than previously appreciated, demonstrating that the lanthipeptide sequence-function space remains largely underexplored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark C Walker
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of New Mexico, 346 Clark Hall, 300 Terrace St. NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA.
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Roger Adams Laboratory, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
| | - Sara M Eslami
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Roger Adams Laboratory, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Kenton J Hetrick
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Roger Adams Laboratory, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Sarah E Ackenhusen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Roger Adams Laboratory, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Douglas A Mitchell
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Roger Adams Laboratory, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 601 S. Goodwin Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Roger Adams Laboratory, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
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36
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Minimal lactazole scaffold for in vitro thiopeptide bioengineering. Nat Commun 2020; 11:2272. [PMID: 32385237 PMCID: PMC7210931 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16145-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Lactazole A is a cryptic thiopeptide from Streptomyces lactacystinaeus, encoded by a compact 9.8 kb biosynthetic gene cluster. Here, we establish a platform for in vitro biosynthesis of lactazole A, referred to as the FIT-Laz system, via a combination of the flexible in vitro translation (FIT) system with recombinantly produced lactazole biosynthetic enzymes. Systematic dissection of lactazole biosynthesis reveals remarkable substrate tolerance of the biosynthetic enzymes and leads to the development of the minimal lactazole scaffold, a construct requiring only 6 post-translational modifications for macrocyclization. Efficient assembly of such minimal thiopeptides with FIT-Laz opens access to diverse lactazole analogs with 10 consecutive mutations, 14- to 62-membered macrocycles, and 18 amino acid-long tail regions, as well as to hybrid thiopeptides containing non-proteinogenic amino acids. This work suggests that the minimal lactazole scaffold is amenable to extensive bioengineering and opens possibilities to explore untapped chemical space of thiopeptides. Lactazole A is a thiopeptide from Streptomyces lactacystinaeus, encoded by a compact 9.8 kb biosynthetic gene cluster. Here, the authors show a platform for in vitro biosynthesis of lactazole A via a combination of a flexible in vitro translation system with recombinantly produced lactazole biosynthetic enzymes.
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Caetano T, van der Donk W, Mendo S. Bacteroidetes can be a rich source of novel lanthipeptides: The case study of Pedobacter lusitanus. Microbiol Res 2020; 235:126441. [PMID: 32109689 DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2020.126441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Revised: 02/11/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Lanthipeptides are intriguing peptides known since 1928, the year of penicillin's discovery. At that time, they were known as lantibiotics due to their (methyl)lanthionine amino acids and antibacterial activity. Their body of knowledge expanded tremendously over the last few years. Our analysis reveals that Bacteroidetes has a high state of clusters encoding the biosynthesis of class I lanthipeptides. We show that some strains of Pedobacter have a number of LanBs/genome comparable to that of some Actinobacteria. The case study selected was Pedobacter lusitanus NL19. Its clusters identified encode LanBs associated with LanCs as well as orphan LanBs. The first are concomitant with LanT transporters typical of class II lanthipeptides (and not class I), making their clusters into a hybrid class I and class II type. So far, this kind of operon was described only once and is involved in the production of pinensins, the first lanthipeptide with antifungal activity. A particular feature of pinensins is their splitted LanBs and we found that these enzymes are also widely encoded in Bacteroides. The function of a high percentage of proteins predicted to play a role in the production of Pedobacter lanthipeptides is unknown. Other major fraction of these proteins is expected to be enrolled in signal-transduction pathways. We demonstrate that the occurrence of lanthipeptides clusters in the genomes of Gram-negative bacteria is higher than previously reported. More importantly, we show that their genetic background is highly diverse, which is an undeniable foreshadowing of novel peptide structures, biochemistry and biological function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tânia Caetano
- Department of Biology and CESAM, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal.
| | - Wilfred van der Donk
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, United States
| | - Sónia Mendo
- Department of Biology and CESAM, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
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38
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Huo L, Zhao X, Acedo JZ, Estrada P, Nair SK, van der Donk WA. Characterization of a Dehydratase and Methyltransferase in the Biosynthesis of Ribosomally Synthesized and Post-translationally Modified Peptides in Lachnospiraceae. Chembiochem 2020; 21:190-199. [PMID: 31532570 PMCID: PMC6980331 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201900483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
As a result of the exponential increase in genomic data, discovery of novel ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide natural products (RiPPs) has progressed rapidly in the past decade. The lanthipeptides are a major subset of RiPPs. Through genome mining we identified a novel lanthipeptide biosynthetic gene cluster (lah) from Lachnospiraceae bacterium C6A11, an anaerobic bacterium that is a member of the human microbiota and which is implicated in the development of host disease states such as type 2 diabetes and resistance to Clostridium difficile colonization. The lah cluster encodes at least seven putative precursor peptides and multiple post-translational modification (PTM) enzymes. Two unusual class II lanthipeptide synthetases LahM1/M2 and a substrate-tolerant S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM)-dependent methyltransferase LahSB are biochemically characterized in this study. We also present the crystal structure of LahSB in complex with product S-adenosylhomocysteine. This study sets the stage for further exploration of the final products of the lah pathway as well as their potential physiological functions in human/animal gut microbiota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liujie Huo
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- State Key Laboratory for Microbial Technology (SKLMT), Institute of Microbial Technology, Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, P. R. China
| | - Xiling Zhao
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Jeella Z Acedo
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Paola Estrada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Satish K Nair
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
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Jin WB, Wu S, Xu YF, Yuan H, Tang GL. Recent advances in HemN-like radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Nat Prod Rep 2020; 37:17-28. [DOI: 10.1039/c9np00032a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
HemN-like radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) enzymes have been recently disclosed to catalyze diverse chemically challenging reactions from primary to secondary metabolic pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Bing Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Bio-organic and Natural Products Chemistry
- Center for Excellence in Molecular Synthesis
- Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
| | - Sheng Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Bio-organic and Natural Products Chemistry
- Center for Excellence in Molecular Synthesis
- Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
| | - Yi-Fan Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Bio-organic and Natural Products Chemistry
- Center for Excellence in Molecular Synthesis
- Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
| | - Hua Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Bio-organic and Natural Products Chemistry
- Center for Excellence in Molecular Synthesis
- Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
| | - Gong-Li Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Bio-organic and Natural Products Chemistry
- Center for Excellence in Molecular Synthesis
- Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
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40
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Greule A, Stok JE, De Voss JJ, Cryle MJ. Unrivalled diversity: the many roles and reactions of bacterial cytochromes P450 in secondary metabolism. Nat Prod Rep 2019; 35:757-791. [PMID: 29667657 DOI: 10.1039/c7np00063d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Covering: 2000 up to 2018 The cytochromes P450 (P450s) are a superfamily of heme-containing monooxygenases that perform diverse catalytic roles in many species, including bacteria. The P450 superfamily is widely known for the hydroxylation of unactivated C-H bonds, but the diversity of reactions that P450s can perform vastly exceeds this undoubtedly impressive chemical transformation. Within bacteria, P450s play important roles in many biosynthetic and biodegradative processes that span a wide range of secondary metabolite pathways and present diverse chemical transformations. In this review, we aim to provide an overview of the range of chemical transformations that P450 enzymes can catalyse within bacterial secondary metabolism, with the intention to provide an important resource to aid in understanding of the potential roles of P450 enzymes within newly identified bacterial biosynthetic pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anja Greule
- The Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia. and EMBL Australia, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Jeanette E Stok
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia.
| | - James J De Voss
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia.
| | - Max J Cryle
- The Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia. and EMBL Australia, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia and Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
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41
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Bogart JW, Bowers AA. Dehydroamino acids: chemical multi-tools for late-stage diversification. Org Biomol Chem 2019; 17:3653-3669. [PMID: 30849157 PMCID: PMC6637761 DOI: 10.1039/c8ob03155j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
α,β-Dehydroamino acids (dhAAs) are noncanonical amino acids that are found in a wide array of natural products and can be easily installed into peptides and proteins. dhAAs exhibit remarkable synthetic flexibility, readily undergoing a number of reactions, such as polar and single-electron additions, transition metal catalyzed cross-couplings, and cycloadditions. Because of the relatively mild conditions required for many of these reactions, dhAAs are increasingly being used as orthogonal chemical handles for late-stage modification of biomolecules. Still, only a fraction of the chemical reactivity of dhAAs has been exploited in such biorthogonal applications. Herein, we provide an overview of the broad spectrum of chemical reactivity of dhAAs, with special emphasis on recent efforts to adapt such transformations for biomolecules such as natural products, peptides, and proteins. We also discuss examples of enzymes from natural product biosynthetic pathways that have been found to catalyze many similar reactions; these enzymes provide mild, regio- and stereoselective, biocatalytic alternatives for future development. We anticipate that the continued investigation of the innate reactivity of dhAAs will furnish a diverse portfolio dhAA-based chemistries for use in chemical biology and drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan W Bogart
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry Eshelman School of Pharmacy, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
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42
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Lichman BR, O'Connor SE, Kries H. Biocatalytic Strategies towards [4+2] Cycloadditions. Chemistry 2019; 25:6864-6877. [DOI: 10.1002/chem.201805412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2018] [Revised: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin R. Lichman
- Department of Biological Chemistry; The John Innes Centre; Colney Lane Norwich UK
- Current address: Department of Biology; University of York; York YO10 5YW UK
| | - Sarah E. O'Connor
- Department of Biological Chemistry; The John Innes Centre; Colney Lane Norwich UK
| | - Hajo Kries
- Independent Junior Research Group, Biosynthetic Design of Natural Products; Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI Jena); Beutenbergstr. 11a 07745 Jena Germany
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43
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Bogart JW, Bowers AA. Thiopeptide Pyridine Synthase TbtD Catalyzes an Intermolecular Formal Aza-Diels-Alder Reaction. J Am Chem Soc 2019; 141:1842-1846. [PMID: 30653303 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b11852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Thiopeptide pyridine synthases catalyze a multistep reaction involving a unique and nonspontaneous intramolecular aza-[4 + 2] cycloaddition between two dehydroalanines to forge a trisubstituted pyridine core. We discovered that the in vitro activity of pyridine synthases from the thiocillin and thiomuracin pathways are significantly enhanced by general base catalysis and that this broadly expands the enzymes substrate tolerance. Remarkably, TbtD is competent to perform an intermolecular cyclization in addition to its cognate intramolecular reaction, underscoring its versatility as a biocatalyst. These data provide evidence that pyridine synthases use a two-site substrate recognition model to engage and process their substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan W Bogart
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry Eshelman School of Pharmacy, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill , North Carolina 27514 , United States
| | - Albert A Bowers
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry Eshelman School of Pharmacy, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill , North Carolina 27514 , United States
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44
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Fleming SR, Bartges TE, Vinogradov AA, Kirkpatrick CL, Goto Y, Suga H, Hicks LM, Bowers AA. Flexizyme-Enabled Benchtop Biosynthesis of Thiopeptides. J Am Chem Soc 2019; 141:758-762. [PMID: 30602112 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b11521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Thiopeptides are natural antibiotics that are fashioned from short peptides by multiple layers of post-translational modification. Their biosynthesis, in particular the pyridine synthases that form the macrocyclic antibiotic core, has attracted intensive research but is complicated by the challenges of reconstituting multiple-pathway enzymes. By combining select RiPP enzymes with cell free expression and flexizyme-based codon reprogramming, we have developed a benchtop biosynthesis of thiopeptide scaffolds. This strategy side-steps several challenges related to the investigation of thiopeptide enzymes and allows access to analytical quantities of new thiopeptide analogs. We further demonstrate that this strategy can be used to validate the activity of new pyridine synthases without the need to reconstitute the cognate prior pathway enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven R Fleming
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill , North Carolina 27599 , United States
| | - Tessa E Bartges
- Department of Chemistry , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill , North Carolina 27599 , United States
| | - Alexander A Vinogradov
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science , The University of Tokyo , Bunkyo-ku , Tokyo 113-0033 , Japan.,JST , PRESTO , 7-3-1 Hongo , Bunkyo-ku , Tokyo 113-0033 , Japan
| | - Christine L Kirkpatrick
- Department of Chemistry , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill , North Carolina 27599 , United States
| | - Yuki Goto
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science , The University of Tokyo , Bunkyo-ku , Tokyo 113-0033 , Japan.,JST , PRESTO , 7-3-1 Hongo , Bunkyo-ku , Tokyo 113-0033 , Japan
| | - Hiroaki Suga
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science , The University of Tokyo , Bunkyo-ku , Tokyo 113-0033 , Japan.,JST , CREST , 7-3-1 Hongo , Bunkyo-ku , Tokyo 113-0033 , Japan
| | - Leslie M Hicks
- Department of Chemistry , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill , North Carolina 27599 , United States
| | - Albert A Bowers
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill , North Carolina 27599 , United States
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45
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Sikandar A, Koehnke J. The role of protein–protein interactions in the biosynthesis of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides. Nat Prod Rep 2019; 36:1576-1588. [DOI: 10.1039/c8np00064f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
This review covers the role of protein–protein complexes in the biosynthesis of selected ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) classes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asfandyar Sikandar
- Workgroup Structural Biology of Biosynthetic Enzymes
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research
- Saarland University
- 66123 Saarbrücken
| | - Jesko Koehnke
- Workgroup Structural Biology of Biosynthetic Enzymes
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research
- Saarland University
- 66123 Saarbrücken
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46
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DiCaprio AJ, Firouzbakht A, Hudson GA, Mitchell DA. Enzymatic Reconstitution and Biosynthetic Investigation of the Lasso Peptide Fusilassin. J Am Chem Soc 2018; 141:290-297. [PMID: 30589265 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b09928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Lasso peptides are a class of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified natural product which possess a unique lariat knot conformation. The low entropy "threaded" conformation endows lasso peptides with considerable resistance to heat and proteolytic degradation, which are attractive properties for the development of peptide-based therapeutics. Despite their discovery nearly 30 years ago, the molecular mechanism underlying lasso peptide biosynthesis remains poorly characterized due to the low stability of the purified biosynthetic enzymes. Here, we report the biosynthetic reconstitution of a lasso peptide derived from Thermobifida fusca, termed fusilassin. Beyond robust catalytic activity, the fusilassin enzymes demonstrate extraordinary substrate tolerance during heterologous expression in E. coli and upon purification in cell-free biosynthetic reconstitution reactions. We provide evidence that the fusilassin biosynthetic enzymes are not capable of forming branched-cyclic products but can produce entirely unrelated lasso peptides. Finally, we leveraged our bioinformatic survey of all lasso peptides identified in GenBank to perform coevolutionary analysis of two requisite biosynthetic proteins. This effort correctly identified residues governing an important protein-protein interaction, illustrating how genomic insight can accelerate the characterization of natural product biosynthetic pathways. The fusilassin enzymes described within represent a model system for both designing future lasso peptides of biomedical importance and also for elucidating the molecular mechanisms that govern lasso peptide biosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam J DiCaprio
- Department of Chemistry , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 South Mathews Avenue , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 1206 West Gregory Drive , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States
| | - Arash Firouzbakht
- Department of Chemistry , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 South Mathews Avenue , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 1206 West Gregory Drive , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States
| | - Graham A Hudson
- Department of Chemistry , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 South Mathews Avenue , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States
| | - Douglas A Mitchell
- Department of Chemistry , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 South Mathews Avenue , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 1206 West Gregory Drive , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States
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47
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Schneider O, Simic N, Aachmann FL, Rückert C, Kristiansen KA, Kalinowski J, Jiang Y, Wang L, Jiang CL, Lale R, Zotchev SB. Genome Mining of Streptomyces sp. YIM 130001 Isolated From Lichen Affords New Thiopeptide Antibiotic. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:3139. [PMID: 30619207 PMCID: PMC6306032 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.03139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 12/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Streptomyces bacteria are recognized as an important source for antibiotics with broad applications in human medicine and animal health. Here, we report the isolation of a new lichen-associating Streptomyces sp. YIM 130001 from the tropical rainforest in Xishuangbanna (Yunnan, China), which displayed antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis. The draft genome sequence of this isolate strain revealed 18 putative biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) for secondary metabolites, which is an unusually low number compared to a typical streptomycete. Inactivation of a lantibiotic dehydrogenase-encoding gene from the BGC presumed to govern biosynthesis of a thiopeptide resulted in the loss of bioactivity. Using comparative HPLC analysis, two peaks in the chromatogram were identified in the extract from the wild-type strain, which were missing in the extract from the mutant. The compounds corresponding to the identified peaks were purified, and structure of one compound was elucidated using NMR. The compound, designated geninthiocin B, showed high similarity to several 35-membered macrocyclic thiopeptides geninthiocin, Val-geninthiocin and berninamycin A. Bioinformatics analysis of the geninthiocin B BGC revealed its close homology to that of berninamycins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olha Schneider
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Nebojsa Simic
- Department of Chemistry, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Finn Lillelund Aachmann
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | | | - Kåre Andre Kristiansen
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Jörn Kalinowski
- Center for Biotechnology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Yi Jiang
- Yunnan Institute of Microbiology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Lisong Wang
- Key Lab for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Cheng-Lin Jiang
- Yunnan Institute of Microbiology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Rahmi Lale
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Sergey B Zotchev
- Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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48
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Hudson GA, Mitchell DA. RiPP antibiotics: biosynthesis and engineering potential. Curr Opin Microbiol 2018; 45:61-69. [PMID: 29533845 PMCID: PMC6131089 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2018.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 146] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2018] [Accepted: 02/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
The threat of antibiotic resistant bacterial infections continues to underscore the need for new treatment options. Historically, small molecule metabolites from microbes have provided a rich source of antibiotic compounds, and as a result, significant effort has been invested in engineering the responsible biosynthetic pathways to generate novel analogs with attractive pharmacological properties. Unfortunately, biosynthetic stringency has limited the capacity of non-ribosomal peptide synthetases and polyketide synthases from producing substantially different analogs in large numbers. Another class of natural products, the ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs), have rapidly expanded in recent years with many natively displaying potent antibiotic activity. RiPP biosynthetic pathways are modular and intrinsically tolerant to alternative substrates. Several prominent RiPPs with antibiotic activity will be covered in this review with a focus on their biosynthetic plasticity. While only a few RiPP enzymes have been thoroughly investigated mechanistically, this knowledge has already been harnessed to generate new-to-nature compounds. Through the use of synthetic biology approaches, on-going efforts in RiPP engineering hold great promise in unlocking the potential of this natural product class.
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Affiliation(s)
- Graham A Hudson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, 600 S Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Douglas A Mitchell
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, 600 S Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, United States; Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, 600 S Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, United States; Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois, 600 S Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, United States.
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49
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Ichikawa H, Bashiri G, Kelly WL. Biosynthesis of the Thiopeptins and Identification of an F 420H 2-Dependent Dehydropiperidine Reductase. J Am Chem Soc 2018; 140:10749-10756. [PMID: 30118217 PMCID: PMC6193465 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b04238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Thiopeptins are highly decorated thiopeptide antibiotics similar in structure to thiostrepton A and harbor two unusual features. All thiopeptins contain a thioamide, a rare moiety among natural products, and a subset of thiopeptins present with a piperidine in the core macrocycle rather than the more oxidated dehydropiperidine or pyridine rings typically observed in the thiopeptides. Here, we report the identification of the thiopeptin biosynthetic gene ( tpn) cluster in Streptomyces tateyamensis and the gene product, TpnL, which shows sequence similarity to (deaza)flavin-dependent oxidoreductases. Heterologous expression of TpnL in the thiostrepton A producer Streptomyces laurentii led to the production of a piperidine-containing analogue. Binding studies revealed that TpnL preferentially binds the deazaflavin cofactor coenzyme F420, and in vitro reconstitution of TpnL activity confirmed that this enzyme is an F420H2-dependent dehydropiperidine reductase. The identification of TpnL and its activity establishes the basis for the piperidine-containing series a thiopeptides, one of the five main structural groups of this diverse family of antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiro Ichikawa
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Ghader Bashiri
- Laboratory of Structural Biology and Maurice Wilkins Center for Molecular Biodiscovery, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Wendy L. Kelly
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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Schwalen CJ, Hudson GA, Kille B, Mitchell DA. Bioinformatic Expansion and Discovery of Thiopeptide Antibiotics. J Am Chem Soc 2018; 140:9494-9501. [PMID: 29983054 PMCID: PMC6070396 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b03896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Thiopeptides are members of the ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide family of natural products. Most characterized thiopeptides display nanomolar potency toward Gram-positive bacteria by blocking protein translation with several being produced at the industrial scale for veterinary and livestock applications. Employing our custom bioinformatics program, RODEO, we expand the thiopeptide family of natural products by a factor of four. This effort revealed many new thiopeptide biosynthetic gene clusters with products predicted to be distinct from characterized thiopeptides and identified gene clusters for previously characterized molecules of unknown biosynthetic origin. To further validate our data set of predicted thiopeptide biosynthetic gene clusters, we isolated and characterized a structurally unique thiopeptide featuring a central piperidine and rare thioamide moiety. Termed saalfelduracin, this thiopeptide displayed potent antibiotic activity toward several drug-resistant Gram-positive pathogens. A combination of whole-genome sequencing, comparative genomics, and heterologous expression experiments confirmed that the thioamide moiety of saalfelduracin is installed post-translationally by the joint action of two proteins, TfuA and YcaO. These results reconcile the previously unknown origin of the thioamide in two long-known thiopeptides, thiopeptin and Sch 18640. Armed with these new insights into thiopeptide chemical-genomic space, we provide a roadmap for the discovery of additional members of this natural product family.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J. Schwalen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Graham A. Hudson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Bryce Kille
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Douglas A. Mitchell
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
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