Uncovering the enzymes that catalyze the final steps in oxytetracycline biosynthesis

J Am Chem Soc. 2013 May 15;135(19):7138-41. doi: 10.1021/ja403516u. Epub 2013 May 1.

Abstract

Tetracyclines are a group of natural products sharing a linearly fused four-ring scaffold, which is essential for their broad-spectrum antibiotic activities. Formation of the key precursor anhydrotetracycline 3 during oxytetracycline 1 biosynthesis has been previously characterized. However, the enzymatic steps that transform 3 into 1, including the additional hydroxylation at C5 and the final C5a-C11a reduction, have remained elusive. Here we report two redox enzymes, OxyS and OxyR, are sufficient to convert 3 to 1. OxyS catalyzes two sequential hydroxylations at C6 and C5 positions of 3 with opposite stereochemistry, while OxyR catalyzes the C5a-C11a reduction using F420 as a cofactor to produce 1. The crystal structure of OxyS was obtained to provide insights into the tandem C6- and C5-hydroxylation steps. The substrate specificities of OxyS and OxyR were shown to influence the relative ratio of 1 and tetracycline 2.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / metabolism*
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Oxidoreductases / metabolism*
  • Oxytetracycline / metabolism*
  • Streptomyces / enzymology*
  • Streptomyces / metabolism

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Oxidoreductases
  • Oxytetracycline