The crude enzyme from Alternaria solani is able to catalyse the [4+21 cycloaddition of prosolanapyrone Ill 6 to the ex0 adduct solanapyrone A 1 whose optical purity is estimated as 92 2 8% e.e. by HPLC analysis monitored using a CD spectrometer; this enzyme also catalyses the oxidation and [4 + 21 cycloaddition of prosolanapyrone II 5 to 1 with 99 4% e.e.

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The syntheses of prosolanapyrones I (6) and II (7) via the aldol reactions of pyrone and dienal segments have been achieved in five steps in 31% overall yield for 6 and seven steps in 5% overall yield for 7. An improved synthetic route starting from vinylpyrone 27 provided 7 in 11 steps in 12% overall yield. The enzymatic Diels−Alder reaction of 7 affords (−)-solanapyrone A (1) with high enantioselectivity and with good exo-selectivity, which is difficult to attain by chemical methods. In addition, a crude enzyme preparation from Alternaria solani has been used to perform a kinetic resolution of (±)-3.

Tetracenomycin F2 cyclase (tcmI gene product), catalyzes an aromatic rearrangement in the biosynthetic pathway for tetracenomycin C in Streptomyces glaucescens. The x-ray structure of this small enzyme has been determined to 1.9-Å resolution together with an analysis of site-directed mutants of potential catalytic residues. The protein exhibits a dimeric ␤␣␤ ferredoxin-like fold that utilizes strand swapping between subunits in its assembly. The fold is dominated by four strands of antiparallel sheet and a layer of ␣-helices, which creates a cavity that is proposed to be the active site. This type of secondary structural arrangement has been previously observed in polyketide monooxygenases and suggests an evolutionary relationship between enzymes that catalyze adjacent steps in these biosynthetic pathways. Mutational analysis of all of the obvious catalytic bases within the active site suggests that the enzyme functions to steer the chemical outcome of the cyclization rather than providing a specific catalytic group. Together, the structure and functional analysis provide insight into the structural framework necessary to perform the complex rearrangements catalyzed by this class of polyketide cyclases.

Vicenistatin, an antitumor antibiotic isolated from Streptomyces halstedii, is a unique 20-membered macrocyclic lactam with a novel aminosugar vicenisamine. The vicenistatin biosynthetic gene cluster (vin) spanning approximately 64 kbp was cloned and sequenced. The cluster contains putative genes for the aglycon biosynthesis including four modular polyketide synthases (PKSs), glutamate mutase, acyl CoA-ligase, and AMP-ligase. Also found in the cluster are genes of NDP-hexose 4,6-dehydratase and aminotransferase for vicenisamine biosynthesis. For the functional confirmation of the cluster, a putative glycosyltransferase gene product, VinC, was heterologously expressed, and the vicenisamine transfer reaction to the aglycon was chemically proved. A unique feature of the vicenistatin PKS is that the loading module contains only an acyl carrier protein domain, in contrast to other known PKS-loading modules containing certain activation domains. Activation of the starter acyl group by separate polypeptides is postulated as well.