Tae-Jin Oh

Neocarzinostatin naphthoate synthase: an unique iterative type I PKS from neocarzinostatin producer Streptomyces carzinostaticus

Enediyne antibiotics are known for their potent antitumor activities. One such enediyne, neocarzinostatin (NCS), consists of a 1:1 complex of non‐peptide chromophore (1a), and peptide apoprotein. The structurally diverse non‐peptide chromophore is responsible for its biological activity. One of its structural components, the naphthoic acid moiety (2,7‐dihydroxy‐5‐methyl‐1‐naphthoic acid, 1d) is synthesized by a polyketide synthase (PKS) pathway through condensing six intact acetate units. The 5.45 kb iterative type I PKS, neocarzinostatin naphthoate synthase (NNS), responsible for naphthoic acid moiety biosynthesis, shares sequence homology with 6‐methyl salicylic acid synthase of fungi and orsellinic acid synthases (AviM and CalO5) of Streptomyces origin. Cultures of S. lividans TK24 and S. coelicolor YU105 containing plasmids with NNS were able to produce 2‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐1‐naphthoic acid (2a), a key intermediate of naphthoic acid moiety in NCS. In addition to 2a, a novel product, 2‐hydroxy‐5‐hydroxymethyl‐1‐naphthoic acid (2d) was isolated. This is the first report of a bacterial iterative type I PKS from an enediyne producer which enables the biosynthesis of bicyclic aromatic compounds.

Enzymatic Synthesis of Apigenin Glucosides by Glucosyltransferase (YjiC) from Bacillus licheniformis DSM 13

Apigenin, a member of the flavone subclass of flavonoids, has long been considered to have various biological activities. Its glucosides, in particular, have been reported to have higher water solubility, increased chemical stability, and enhanced biological activities. Here, the synthesis of apigenin glucosides by the in vitro glucosylation reaction was successfully performed using a UDP-glucosyltransferase YjiC, from Bacillus licheniformis DSM 13. The glucosylation has been confirmed at the phenolic groups of C-4′ and C-7 positions ensuing apigenin 4′-O-glucoside, apigenin 7-O-glucoside and apigenin 4′,7-O-diglucoside as the products leaving the C-5 position unglucosylated. The position of glucosylation and the chemical structures of glucosides were elucidated by liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The parameters such as pH, UDP glucose concentration and time of incubation were also analyzed during this study.

Heterologous expression of metK1-sp and afsR-sp in Streptomyces venezuelae for the production of pikromycin

Two regulator genes, metK1-sp and afsR-sp, from Streptomyces peucetius ATCC 27952 were heterologously expressed in S. venezuelae ATCC 15439, to produce 14-membered pikromycin antibiotics. The production of pikromycin was increased by 1.6-fold and 2.6-fold by the expression of metK1-sp and afsR-sp, respectively. The overexpression of metK1-sp and afsR-sp in S. venezuelae stimulated the expression of the pathway-specific regulatory genes, pikD and ketosynthase, as demonstrated by RT-PCR. The elevated transcripts of the pikD and ketosynthase genes were consistent with the enhanced production of pikromycin.

Cytochrome P450 (CYP105F2) from Streptomyces peucetius and its activity with oleandomycin

The cytochrome P450 enzyme is one of the most versatile redox proteins and it is responsible for the oxidative metabolism of a wide variety of endogenous and exogenous compounds. The cytochrome P450 gene, CYP105F2, from Streptomyces peucetius was subcloned into the pET-32a(+) vector to overexpress the protein in E. coli BL21 (DE3) pLysS. The expressed enzyme was purified by fast protein liquid chromatography with a DEAE and UNO Q column. A 3D model was constructed based on the known crystallographic structures of cytochrome P450, and comparison with PikC and MoxA signified broad substrate specificity toward structurally diverse compounds. In addition, the in vitro hydroxylation of oleandomycin by purified CYP105F2 observed in liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and mass/mass spectrometry indicated its flexibility towards alternative polyketides for the structural diversification of the macrolide by post-polyketide synthase hydroxylation.

Enzymatic synthesis of vancomycin derivatives using galactosyltransferase and sialyltransferase

Analogs of vancomycin and pseudo-vancomycin with new sugar attachments in mono- and di-saccharide form have been enzymatically synthesized by glycosylation with overexpressed glycosyltransferases, β1,4-galactosyltransferase and α2,3-sialyl transferases. All four analogs, including galactose-containing derivatives (6 and 8) and galactose- and sialic acid-containing derivatives (7 and 9) were prepared and characterized by HPLC, LC-MS, NMR and MIC test.

Hydroxylation of long chain fatty acids by CYP147F1, a new cytochrome P450 subfamily protein from Streptomyces peucetius.

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 147F1 from Streptomyces peucetius is a new CYP subfamily of that has been identified as ω-fatty acid hydroxylase. We describe the identification of CYP147F1 as a fatty acid hydroxylase by screening for the substrate using a substrate binding assay. Screening of substrates resulted in the identification of fatty acid groups of compounds as potential hits for CYP147F1 substrates. Fatty acids from C10:0 to C18:0 all showed type I shift spectra indicating their potential as substrates. Among several fatty acids tested, lauric acid, myrsitic acid, and palmitic acid were used to characterize CYP147F1. CYP147F1 activity was reconstituted using putidaredoxin reductase and putidaredoxin from Pseudomonas putida as surrogate electron transfer partners. Kinetic parameters, including the dissociation constant, Km, NADH consumption assay, production formation rate, and coupling efficiency for CYP147F1 were also determined.

Identification of the duplicated genes for S‐adenosyl‐l‐methionine synthetase (metK1‐sp and metK2‐sp) in Streptomyces peucetius var. caesius ATCC 27952

Aims:  To characterize the function of both metK1‐sp (sp1190) and metK2‐sp (sp1566) in vitro and in vivo, and to study the regulation of doxorubicin production by overexpressing the metK.

Heterologous production of paromamine in Streptomyces lividans TK24 using kanamycin biosynthetic genes from Streptomyces kanamyceticus ATCC12853

The 2-deoxystreptamine and paromamine are two key intermediates in kanamycin biosynthesis. In the present study, pSK-2 and pSK-7 recombinant plasmids were constructed with two combinations of genes: kanABK and kanABKF and kacA respectively from kanamycin producer Streptomyces kanamyceticus ATCC12853. These plasmids were heterologously expressed into Streptomyces lividans TK24 independently and generated two recombinant strains named S. lividans Sk-2/SL and S. lividans SK-7/SL, respectively. ESI/ MS and ESI-LC/MS analysis of the metabolite from S. lividans SK-2/SL showed that the compound had a molecular mass of 163 [M + H]+, which corresponds to that of 2-deoxystreptamine. ESI/MS and MS/MS analysis of metabolites from S. lividans SK-7/SL demonstrated the production of paromamine with a molecular mass of 324 [M + H]+. In this study, we report the production of paromamine in a heterologous host for the first time. This study will evoke to explore complete biosynthetic pathways of kanamycin and related aminoglycoside antibiotics.

Biosynthesis of spectinomycin: heterologous production of spectinomycin and spectinamine in an aminoglycoside-deficient host, Streptomyces venezuelae YJ003

Aims:  To obtain spectinomycin and spectinamine by heterologous expression into the biosynthetic deoxysugar (desosamine) gene‐deleted host Streptomyces venezuelae YJ003.

Hydrogen peroxide-mediated dealkylation of 7-ethoxycoumarin by cytochrome P450 (CYP107AJ1) from Streptomyces peucetius ATCC27952

Cytochrome P450 CYP107AJ1, which was isolated from Streptomyces peucetius and showed high homology with peroxygenases, catalyzed a dealkylation reaction with hydrogen peroxide to provide electrons, protons and oxygen, evading the requirement for a supporting redox protein. Preliminary investigation of its transcriptional level in S. peucetius showed significant expression. Homology modeling and subsequent docking with 7-ethoxycoumarin yielded a reasonable docked structure. cyp107AJ1 cloned into pET28a(+) was expressed in Escherichia coli, and soluble protein was subjected to column-chromatographic purification in order to carry out enzyme assays with 7-ethoxycoumarin. HPLC analysis of the extracted product, corresponding to its LC/MS analysis, showed the dealkylated 7-ethoxycoumarin, which was further established by subsequent GC/MS spectral analysis. We suggest that CYP107AJ1 bypassed the requirement for NAD(P)H and redox partners for generating novel analogues.