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Short pathways to complexity generation: fungal peptidyl alkaloid multicyclic scaffolds from anthranilate building
Christopher T Walsh1, Stuart W Haynes, Brian D Ames
1Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School , 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, Massachusetts.
Abstract:
Complexity generation in naturally occurring peptide scaffolds can occur either by posttranslational modifications of nascent ribosomal proteins or through post assembly line tailoring of nonribosomal peptides. Short enzymatic pathways utilizing bimodular and trimodular nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) assembly lines, followed by tailoring oxygenases and/or prenyltransferases, efficiently construct complex fungal peptidyl alkaloid scaffolds in Aspergilli, Neosartorya, and Penicillium species. Use of the nonproteinogenic amino acid anthranilate as chain-initiating building block and chain-terminating intramolecular nucleophile leads efficiently to peptidyl alkaloid scaffolds with two to seven fused rings.
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