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Reprogramming the enduracidin NRPS assembly line via thioesterase domain relocation
Yanan Sun1, Guibin Tu1, Xiaocan Sun1
1Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China.
Repositioning a thioesterase (TE) domain in large nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) assembly lines enables the creation of novel macrocyclic peptides. This engineering strategy allows for programmed backbone lengths and tailored ring sizes in cyclic peptide libraries.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Synthetic Biology
Background:
- Engineering large multi-megadalton nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) assembly lines is challenging.
- Module deletion often disrupts macrocyclic peptide formation, limiting analogue generation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential of thioesterase (TE) domain repositioning for engineering NRPS assembly lines.
- To generate macrocyclic peptides with programmed backbone lengths by relocating the EndC_TE domain.
Main Methods:
- Identification of an unusual tri-thioesterase (tri-TE) architecture in the enduracidin NRPS.
- Systematic relocation of the terminal thioesterase domain (EndC_TE) within the 2.0 MDa enduracidin NRPS.
- MS/MS analyses to confirm regioselectivity and macrocyclization patterns.
Main Results:
- Engineered NRPS assembly lines produced macrocyclic peptides with programmed backbone lengths.
- EndC_TE retained conserved regioselectivity across derivatives, enabling cyclization between specific residues.
- Successful generation of macrocyclic derivatives with varying lengths.
Conclusions:
- Thioesterase domain relocation is a viable strategy for reprogramming complex NRPS assembly lines.
- This approach facilitates the generation of macrocyclic derivatives with tailored ring sizes.
- EndC_TE is a valuable catalytic domain for constructing cyclic peptide libraries.
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