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Published on: October 4, 2019
Polyunsaturated fatty-acid-like trans-enoyl reductases utilized in polyketide biosynthesis
Stefanie B Bumpus1, Nathan A Magarvey, Neil L Kelleher
1Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
Researchers identified PksE, a trans-acting enoyl reductase, essential for synthesizing the saturated bond in Bacillus subtilis dihydrobacillaene. This finding reveals a novel enoyl reduction pathway in polyketide biosynthesis, potentially linking it to polyunsaturated fatty acid machinery.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Polyketide biosynthesis relies on cis-acting catalytic domains.
- The Bacillus subtilis metabolite dihydrobacillaene requires a saturated C14'-C15' bond, which cis-acting domains alone cannot produce.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify the trans-acting factor responsible for the C14'-C15' bond saturation in dihydrobacillaene biosynthesis.
- To characterize the function of the identified enzyme in polyketide synthesis.
Main Methods:
- Bioinformatic analysis to identify homologous enzymes.
- In vitro biochemical assays to confirm enoyl reductase activity.
Main Results:
- PksE was identified as a trans-acting enoyl reductase crucial for dihydrobacillaene biosynthesis.
- PksE exhibits homology to enoyl reductases involved in polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) biosynthesis.
- In vitro experiments confirmed PksE's enoyl reductase function.
Conclusions:
- A general enoyl reduction pathway exists in polyketide biosynthesis.
- PUFA-like biosynthetic machinery can influence small-molecule function.
- PksE represents a novel enzyme class in bacterial secondary metabolite production.
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