Biosynthesis of vitamin B2: a unique way to assemble a xylene ring

The biosynthesis of one riboflavin (vitamin B(2)) molecule requires one molecule of GTP and two molecules of ribulose 5-phosphate as substrates. In the final step, the tricyclic isoalloxazine chromophore, which is the hallmark of flavocoenzymes, arises from a highly unusual dismutation of bicyclic 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine that is catalyzed by riboflavin synthase but can also proceed without catalysis. The reaction proceeds via a pentacyclic adduct of two 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine molecules, whose cleavage into riboflavin and a pyrimidine derivative (by a sequence of two elimination steps) is mechanistically straightforward. Recently, the formation of the pentacyclic adduct has been proposed to involve a hydride transfer step followed by a [4+2] cycloaddition. Surprisingly, two different classes of riboflavin synthases utilize different diastereomers of the pentacyclic adduct, but the newly generated chiral centers are lost upon the intermediates' subsequent fragmentation.