No abstract

The pyran ring is a very common structural unit of many natural, bioactive molecules that are widely found in plants, bacteria, and fungi. However, the enzymatic processes by which many of these pyran-containing molecules are formed are unclear. Herein, we report the construction of the pyran ring catalyzed by the cooperation of a flavin-dependent monooxygenase, XimD, and a SnoaL-like cyclase, XimE, in the biosynthesis of xiamenmycins. XimD catalyzes the formation of an epoxide intermediate that spontaneously transforms to furan and pyran products (43:1) in vitro. XimE then catalyzes the formation of the pyran ring in a 6-endo configuration from the epoxide to yield a benzopyran, xiamenmycin B. Further, we obtained the crystallographic structure of XimE, with and without product, which suggests a synergistic mechanism in which a group of four residues (Y46–Y90–H102–E136) acts cooperatively as the general acid and base. Subsequent structure-based analysis of possible viable substrates indicates that both XimD and XimE exhibit high promiscuity in their catalysis. Overall, this study reveals the mechanism of pyran ring formation in xiamenmycin biosynthesis and demonstrates the potential application of XimD and XimE in the biosynthesis of other benzoheterocycle scaffolds, including furano- and pyranocoumarins.

Polycyclic tetramate macrolactams (PTMs) were identified as distinct secondary metabolites of the mangrove-derived Streptomyces xiamenensis 318. Together with three known compounds—ikarugamycin (1), capsimycin (2) and capsimycin B (3)—two new compounds, capsimycin C (4) with trans-diols and capsimycin D (5) with trans-configurations at C-13/C-14, have been identified. The absolute configurations of the tert/tert-diols moiety was determined in 4 by NMR spectroscopic analysis, CD spectral comparisons and semi-synthetic method. The post-modification mechanism of the carbocyclic ring at C-14/C-13 of compound 1 in the biosynthesis of an important intermediate 3 was investigated. A putative cytochrome P450 superfamily gene, SXIM_40690 (ikaD), which was proximally localized to the ikarugamycin biosynthetic pathway, was characterized. In vivo gene inactivation and complementation experiment confirmed that IkaD catalysed the epoxide-ring formation reaction and further hydroxylation of ethyl side chain to form capsimycin G (3′). Binding affinities and kinetic parameters for the interactions between ikarugamycin (1) and capsimycin B (3) with IkaD were measured with Surface Plasmon Resonance. The intermediate compound 3′ was isolated and identified as 30-hydroxyl-capsimycin B. The caspimycins 2 and 3, were transferred to methoxyl derivatives, 6 and 7, under acidic and heating conditions. Compounds 1–3 exhibited anti-proliferative activities against pancreatic carcinoma with IC50 values of 1.30–3.37 μM.