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Monobactam formation in sulfazecin by a nonribosomal peptide synthetase thioesterase
Ryan A Oliver1, Rongfeng Li1, Craig A Townsend1
1Department of Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Abstract:
The N-sulfonated monocyclic β-lactam ring characteristic of the monobactams confers resistance to zinc metallo-β-lactamases and affords the most effective class to combat carbapenem-resistant enterobacteria (CRE). Here we report unprecedented nonribosomal peptide synthetase activities, wherein an assembled tripeptide is N-sulfonated in trans before direct synthesis of the β-lactam ring in a noncanonical, cysteine-containing thioesterase domain. This means of azetidinone synthesis is distinct from the three others known in nature.
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