The fungus Botrytis cinerea is the causal agent of the economically important gray mold disease that affects more than 200 ornamental and agriculturally important plant species. B. cinerea is a necrotrophic plant pathogen that secretes nonspecific phytotoxins, including the sesquiterpene botrydial and the polyketide botcinic acid. The region surrounding the previously characterized BcBOT1 gene has now been identified as the botrydial biosynthetic gene cluster. Five genes including BcBOT1 and BcBOT2 were shown by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR to be co-regulated through the calcineurin signaling pathway. Inactivation of the BcBOT2 gene, encoding a putative sesquiterpene cyclase, abolished botrydial biosynthesis, which could be restored by in trans complementation. Inactivation of BcBOT2 also resulted in overproduction of botcinic acid that was observed to be strain-dependent. Recombinant BcBOT2 protein converted farnesyl diphosphate to the parent sesquiterpene of the botrydial biosynthetic pathway, the tricyclic alcohol presilphiperfolan-8β-ol.

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Presilphiperfolan-8β-ol synthase, encoded by the BcBOT2 gene from the necrotrophic plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea, catalyzes the multistep cyclization of farnesyl diphosphate (2) to the tricyclic sesquiterpene alcohol presilphiperfolan-8β-ol (3), the preursor of the phytotoxin botrydial, a strain-dependent fungal virulence factor. Incubation of (1R)-[1-2H]farnesyl diphosphate (2b) with recombinant presilphiperfolan-8β-ol synthase gave exclusively (5R)-[5α-2H]-3b, while complementary incubation of (1S)-[1-2H]FPP (2c) gave (5S)-[5β-2H]-3c. These results established that cyclization of farnesyl diphosphate involves displacement of the diphosphate group from C-1 with net inversion of configuration and ruled out the proposed intermediacy the cisoid conformer of nerolidyl diphosphate (9) in the cyclization. While not a mandatory intermediate, (3R)-nerolidyl diphosphate was shown to act as a substrate surrogate. Cyclization of [13,13,13-2H3] farnesyl diphosphate (2d) gave [14,14,14-2H3]-3d, thereby establishing that electrophilic attack takes place exclusively on the si face of the 12,13-double bond of 2. The combined results provide a detailed picture of the conformation of enzyme-bound farnesyl diphosphate at the active site of presilphiperfolan-8β-ol synthase.