A revised biosynthetic pathway for the cofactor F420 in prokaryotes

Nat Commun. 2019 Apr 5;10(1):1558. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-09534-x.

Abstract

Cofactor F420 plays critical roles in primary and secondary metabolism in a range of bacteria and archaea as a low-potential hydride transfer agent. It mediates a variety of important redox transformations involved in bacterial persistence, antibiotic biosynthesis, pro-drug activation and methanogenesis. However, the biosynthetic pathway for F420 has not been fully elucidated: neither the enzyme that generates the putative intermediate 2-phospho-L-lactate, nor the function of the FMN-binding C-terminal domain of the γ-glutamyl ligase (FbiB) in bacteria are known. Here we present the structure of the guanylyltransferase FbiD and show that, along with its archaeal homolog CofC, it accepts phosphoenolpyruvate, rather than 2-phospho-L-lactate, as the substrate, leading to the formation of the previously uncharacterized intermediate dehydro-F420-0. The C-terminal domain of FbiB then utilizes FMNH2 to reduce dehydro-F420-0, which produces mature F420 species when combined with the γ-glutamyl ligase activity of the N-terminal domain. These new insights have allowed the heterologous production of F420 from a recombinant F420 biosynthetic pathway in Escherichia coli.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biosynthetic Pathways*
  • Escherichia coli / metabolism*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Nucleotidyltransferases / chemistry
  • Nucleotidyltransferases / metabolism
  • Phosphoenolpyruvate / chemistry
  • Phosphoenolpyruvate / metabolism
  • Prokaryotic Cells / metabolism
  • Riboflavin / analogs & derivatives*
  • Riboflavin / biosynthesis

Substances

  • factor 420
  • Phosphoenolpyruvate
  • Nucleotidyltransferases
  • guanylyltransferase
  • Riboflavin