The chemistry and biology of mycolactones

• Matthias Gehringer and
• Karl-Heinz Altmann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 1596–1660, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.159

• , based on studies investigating the stability of M. ulcerans extracts towards different chemicals and enzymes [31]. The true nature of the toxin, however, remained elusive until 1998, when Small and co-workers identified a polyketide isolated from acetone-soluble M. ulcerans lipid extracts as the key

• activity. Further purification of this material by reversed-phase HPLC and subsequent characterization by high-resolution mass spectrometry and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy unveiled a 12-membered macrolactone substituted with two polyketide-derived side chains (Figure 1). Based on its mycobacterial

• origin and its chemical structure, this compound was named mycolactone. It is worth noting that mycolactone represented the first polyketide macrolide isolated from a mycobacterial species and was also the first example of a polyketide acting as the virulence factor of a human pathogen [34]. The purified

Strategies in megasynthase engineering – fatty acid synthases (FAS) as model proteins

• Manuel Fischer and
• Martin Grininger

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 1204–1211, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.119

• Megasynthases are large multienzyme proteins that produce a plethora of important natural compounds by catalyzing the successive condensation and modification of precursor units. Within the class of megasynthases, polyketide synthases (PKS) are responsible for the production of a large spectrum of bioactive

• engineering strategies in the light of the newly emerging structural information on megasynthases, and argue that fatty acid synthases (FAS) are and will be valuable objects for further developing this field. Keywords: fatty acid synthases; megasynthases; metabolic enzyme engineering; polyketide synthases

• antineoplastic doxorubicin and by the antiparasitic avermectin (Figure 1a) [1]. PK are assembled from acyl-coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) units via a series of Claisen-type condensation reactions catalyzed by polyketide synthases (PKS) (Figure 1b). PKS occur as large multifunctional enzymes, termed megasynthases, which

Total syntheses of the archazolids: an emerging class of novel anticancer drugs

• Stephan Scheeff and
• Dirk Menche

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 1085–1098, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.108

• the archazolids, complex polyketide macrolides which present the most potent V-ATPase inhibitors known to date, rendering these macrolides important lead structures for the development of novel anticancer agents. The limited natural supply of these metabolites from their myxobacterial source renders

• of these multimeric enzymes also in cancer development and progression was discovered and has been increasingly unraveled. The archazolids, polyketide macrolides from the myxobacterium Archangium gephyra, have played a key role in these studies. They present the most potent V-ATPase inhibitors known

• full stereochemistry in the first place. The various approaches discussed within this manuscript show the various tactics and strategies that may be employed in complex polyketide synthesis. Notable features of the total synthesis by the Menche group include the robustness of boron mediated aldol

Lipids: fatty acids and derivatives, polyketides and isoprenoids

• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 793–794, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.78

• biosynthetically related polyketide pathways, and terpenoid biosynthesis. I hope that the present Thematic Series of the Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry on the interdisciplinary topic of “Lipids” will cover many topics of high interest to readers from chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, medicine, pharmacy

Biosynthetic origin of butyrolactol A, an antifungal polyketide produced by a marine-derived Streptomyces

• Enjuro Harunari,
• Hisayuki Komaki and
• Yasuhiro Igarashi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 441–450, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.47

• , Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan 10.3762/bjoc.13.47 Abstract Butyrolactol A is an antifungal polyketide of Streptomyces bearing an uncommon tert-butyl starter unit and a polyol system in which eight hydroxy/acyloxy carbons are contiguously connected. Except for its congener butyrolactol B, there exist no

• valine and its C-methylation with methionine and the polyol carbons are derived from a glycolysis intermediate, possibly hydroxymalonyl-ACP. Keywords: biosynthesis; butyrolactol; contiguous polyol; hydroxymalonyl-ACP; polyketide; Streptomyces; tert-butyl; Introduction Actinomycetes produce structurally

• /carbohydrate/nucleic acid derivatives [1][2]. One of the largest groups of bacterial secondary metabolites is polyketide from which a range of clinically used drugs have been developed. Polyketides still remain in the focus of drug development because of their structural complexity that can provide attractive

Polyketide stereocontrol: a study in chemical biology

• Kira J. Weissman

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 348–371, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.39

• biosynthesis of reduced polyketides in bacteria by modular polyketide synthases (PKSs) proceeds with exquisite stereocontrol. As the stereochemistry is intimately linked to the strong bioactivity of these molecules, the origins of stereochemical control are of significant interest in attempts to create

• this approach to provide answers to fundamental biological questions. Keywords: chemical biology; polyketide synthases; reduced polyketides; stereocontrol; Introduction Reduced polyketides and their derivatives form the basis for a number of medicines in current clinical usage, notably anti

• functionality in a defined way in three dimensions, allowing them to bind their biological targets with useful affinity (10−7 to 10−9 M [4]). Erythromycin A (1, Figure 1) is the prototypical polyketide, as its biosynthesis has been studied most heavily to date. The structure incorporates 10 stereocenters, and

A non-canonical peptide synthetase adenylates 3-methyl-2-oxovaleric acid for auriculamide biosynthesis

• Daniel Braga,
• Dirk Hoffmeister and
• Markus Nett

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 2766–2770, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.274

• microorganism as a promising source of natural products. Genes for nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) were found to be preponderant, either solely or organised in combination with polyketide synthase (PKS) genes, representing four and five clusters, respectively. Two PKS and three putative bacteriocin

Evidence for an iterative module in chain elongation on the azalomycin polyketide synthase

• Hui Hong,
• Yuhui Sun,
• Yongjun Zhou,
• Emily Stephens,
• Markiyan Samborskyy and
• Peter F. Leadlay

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 2164–2172, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.206

• , and Wuhan University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan 430071, People’s Republic of China 10.3762/bjoc.12.206 Abstract The assembly-line synthases that produce bacterial polyketide natural products follow a modular paradigm in which each round of chain extension is catalysed by a different set

• (marginolactones) azalomycin and kanchanamycin, isolated respectively from Streptomyces malaysiensis DSM4137 and Streptomyces olivaceus Tü4018, the first extension module catalyses both the first and second cycles of polyketide chain extension. To confirm the integrity of the azl gene cluster, it was cloned intact

• produced azalomycin, showing that the polyketide synthase genes in the sequenced cluster are sufficient to accomplish formation of the full-length polyketide chain. This provides strong support for module iteration in the azalomycin and kanchanamycin biosynthetic pathways. In contrast, re-sequencing of the

The direct oxidative diene cyclization and related reactions in natural product synthesis

• Juliane Adrian,
• Leona J. Gross and
• Christian B. W. Stark

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 2104–2123, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.200

• of the present review is to assemble key results of these applications and illustrate scope and limitations. Review Oxidative cyclizations in the synthesis of carbohydrates, amino acids and polyketide natural products (+)-Anhydro-D-glucitol and (+)-D-chitaric acid (+)-Anhydro-D-glucitol (6) was

• of this polyketide. At this point it has to be mentioned that in 1987 the group of Weiler also used such a permanganate-promoted oxidative cyclization for the stereoselective synthesis of the THF unit in ionomycin [63]. Similarly, in 1980 Walba et al. reported on the B/C-ring fragment synthesis of

Biosynthesis of oxygen and nitrogen-containing heterocycles in polyketides

• Franziska Hemmerling and
• Frank Hahn

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1512–1550, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.148

• Bayreuth, Germany 10.3762/bjoc.12.148 Abstract This review highlights the biosynthesis of heterocycles in polyketide natural products with a focus on oxygen and nitrogen-containing heterocycles with ring sizes between 3 and 6 atoms. Heterocycles are abundant structural elements of natural products from

• ]. Polyketides Polyketide natural products are biosynthesised by polyketide synthases (PKSs) of the types I–III. Type I PKS are multimodular megaenzyme complexes that produce linear, reduced polyketides in an assembly line process that uses acyl carrier proteins (ACP), ketosynthase (KS) and acyl transferase (AT

• their standard catalytic repertoire (Scheme 1). They transacylate the thioester of a PKS-bound polyketide onto a nucleophile. If the nucleophile is water, this leads to carboxylic acids. The reactions of backbone hydroxy groups or amines consequently give lactones and lactams. TE domains mostly form

Cyclisation mechanisms in the biosynthesis of ribosomally synthesised and post-translationally modified peptides

• Andrew W. Truman

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1250–1268, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.120

• annotation software, which means that some putative RiPP precursors are not even listed in databases. Furthermore, novel classes are difficult to identify precisely due to their novelty compared to known pathways. This is in contrast to terpenes, polyketide synthases or NRPSs, whose pathways are all clearly

Marine-derived myxobacteria of the suborder Nannocystineae: An underexplored source of structurally intriguing and biologically active metabolites

• Antonio Dávila-Céspedes,
• Peter Hufendiek,
• Max Crüsemann,
• Till F. Schäberle and
• Gabriele M. König

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 969–984, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.96

• -date-explored members of these halophilic or halotolerant myxobacteria are all grouped into the suborder Nannocystineae. Few of them were chemically investigated revealing around 11 structural types belonging to the polyketide, non-ribosomal peptide, hybrids thereof or terpenoid class of secondary

• examples are the phenylnannolones A–C (11–13, Figure 7), molecules of polyketide nature with a phenylalanine-derived starter unit [45]. These compounds are synthesized by N. exedens strain 150, later reassigned to N. pusilla, isolated from the intertidal region of a beach in Crete [45]. Cultivation of the

• . Further investigation led to the isolation and structure elucidation of the bioactive polyketide haliangicin (24, Figure 10), which was the first myxobacterial metabolite of true marine origin. It was found that this molecule comprised a β-methoxyacrylate subunit including a conjugated tetraene moiety [52

Antibiotics from predatory bacteria

• Juliane Korp,
• María S. Vela Gurovic and
• Markus Nett

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 594–607, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.58

• reaction [109][110]. The althiomycin biosynthetic gene cluster was recently identified in M. xanthus DK897 by a combination of retrobiosynthetic analysis and gene inactivation [111]. Two open reading frames (ORFs) encoding for a nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) and a NRPS/polyketide synthase (PKS

• Roseiflexus spp. for the production of natural products is negligible [122], the Herpetosiphon genomes contain a significant number of biosynthetic loci (Table 3). Unlike actinomycete genomes, which are particularly rich in polyketide pathways [123], the Herpetosiphon chromosomes were found to be dominated by

Biosynthesis of α-pyrones

• Till F. Schäberle

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 571–588, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.56

• biosynthesis of these mostly polyketide-derived structures exist, thus it is assumed that the route towards α-pyrones has been developed several times in evolution. They can be built up by the catalytic activities of the different types of polyketide synthase (PKS) systems, and especially the final ring

• following polymerization to fatty acids [34]. Now, it is generally accepted that most α-pyrones are synthesized via the polyketide pathway. Solely for plant-derived ellagitannins another biosynthetic origin was described. Via the shikimate pathway gallic acid is generated, which represents the precursor in

• ellagitannin biosynthesis [73]. The ellagitannins can then be hydrolyzed to ellagic acid (22), and subsequently converted to urolithins (23–27). In microorganisms the PKS-derived origin was independently postulated for numerous compounds. The polyketide biosynthesis has much in common with fatty acid

Natural products from microbes associated with insects

• Christine Beemelmanns,
• Huijuan Guo,
• Maja Rischer and
• Michael Poulsen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 314–327, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.34

• microbes, indicating a ”first chemical defense line” and ”long term prophylaxis” of P. triangulum ensuring protection and enhanced survival rates of the offspring. In a similar study, a detailed chemical analysis of rove beetles (Paederus spp.) led to the isolation of the complex polyketide pederin (3), a

• citrus psyllid and the β-proteobacterium ”Candidatus Profftella armatura” [54][55]. A genome analysis of Profftella, which resides in a symbiotic organ called the bacteriome, revealed that 15% of the drastically reduced genome encoded horizontally acquired genes for the biosynthesis of the polyketide

• dentigerumycin (5) that selectively inhibits the growth of the nest parasite Escovopsis but not the ants’ mutualistic fungus at micromolar concentrations [77]. Dentigerumycin bears an unusual amino acid core skeleton including three piperazic acids, β-hydroxyleucine, N-hydroxyalanine, and a polyketide-derived

Recent highlights in biosynthesis research using stable isotopes

• Jan Rinkel and
• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 2493–2508, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.271

• may not precisely follow the IUPAC rules. Review Polyketides Polyketide synthases (PKS) are multidomain enzymes that catalyze the formation of natural products via reaction steps similar to fatty acid biosynthesis, in which C2-units are fused in Claisen condensations and modified in an iterative or

• reductase [16], aflatoxin B1 (2) [17] and the potent antifungal agent amphotericin B (3) [18], which affects membrane integrity. The products of polyketide synthases (PKS) belong to the first secondary metabolites that were investigated using isotopically labeled compounds [19]. Feeding experiments using

• malonyl moiety to the α,β-unsaturated thioester bound to the keto-synthase domain (KS). After this reaction, the polyketide chain is bound to the KS and the acyl carrier protein (ACP). The following lactonization to generate the δ-lactone structure in 4 can either proceed via nucleophilic attack of the δ

Preparation of conjugated dienoates with Bestmann ylide: Towards the synthesis of zampanolide and dactylolide using a facile linchpin approach

• Jingjing Wang,
• Samuel Z. Y. Ting and
• Joanne E. Harvey

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 1815–1822, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.197

• aldehyde. Primary and secondary alcohols, including allylic alcohols, are suitable substrates; the newly formed alkene has an E-geometry. Strategically, this represents a highly efficient route to unsaturated polyketide derivatives. A linchpin approach to the synthesis of a major fragment of the natural

Structure and conformational analysis of spiroketals from 6-O-methyl-9(E)-hydroxyiminoerythronolide A

• Ana Čikoš,
• Irena Ćaleta,
• Dinko Žiher,
• Mark B. Vine,
• Ivaylo J. Elenkov,
• Marko Dukši,
• Dubravka Gembarovski,
• Marina Ilijaš,
• Snježana Dragojević,
• Ivica Malnar and
• Sulejman Alihodžić

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 1447–1457, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.157

• ; spiroketal; Introduction Macrolide antibiotics are natural or semi-synthetic products of polyketide origin, containing one or more desoxy sugars attached to a macrocyclic lactone aglycon. This large and structurally diverse category of compounds has traditionally been divided into classes based on the

A novel and widespread class of ketosynthase is responsible for the head-to-head condensation of two acyl moieties in bacterial pyrone biosynthesis

• Darko Kresovic,
• Florence Schempp,
• Zakaria Cheikh-Ali and
• Helge B. Bode

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 1412–1417, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.152

• phosphopantetheinyl-transferase (PPtase) activity of NgrA [18]. Results and Discussion Usually pyrones are derived in a one-chain mechanism from type III polyketide synthases [2][19] rarely showing two alkyl substituents resulting from the incorporation of different extender units [20]. Contrary to this, experiments

Natural phenolic metabolites with anti-angiogenic properties – a review from the chemical point of view

• Qiu Sun,
• Jörg Heilmann and
• Burkhard König

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 249–264, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.28

• from the polyketide pathway and mainly accumulate in Hypericaceae [54] and Clusiaceae. Hyperforin, likely the most prominent acylphloroglucinol derivative and present in higher concentration in St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum L., Hypericaceae), has been recently reported to exhibit strong

De novo macrolide–glycolipid macrolactone hybrids: Synthesis, structure and antibiotic activity of carbohydrate-fused macrocycles

• Richard T. Desmond,
• Anniefer N. Magpusao,
• Chris Lorenc,
• Jeremy B. Alverson,
• Nigel Priestley and
• Mark W. Peczuh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 2215–2221, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.229

• macrocycle through the C1’ (glycosidic) and C6’ oxygens. The new macrolides bear a resemblance to sophorolipid lactone 2 and to polyketide macrocycles that contain a tetrahydropyran moiety [20][21][22]. We report on the synthesis, X-ray crystal structures and antibiotic activities of the new compounds

Streptopyridines, volatile pyridine alkaloids produced by Streptomyces sp. FORM5

• Ulrike Groenhagen,
• Michael Maczka,
• Jeroen S. Dickschat and
• Stefan Schulz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 1421–1432, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.146

• . Keywords: headspace analysis; natural products; polyketide biosynthesis; pyridine derivatives; streptazolin; volatile compounds; Introduction Actinomycetes are excellent producers of diverse and bioactive secondary metabolites. These metabolites belong to many different structural classes including

• derivatives streptazones B1 (1), B2 (2), C (3), the 4-pyridone derivative streptazone D (4) with a pentadienyl side chain, and streptazolin (5) (Figure 1) [8]. Streptazolin is produced by several streptomycetes [8][9][10][11][12], and is formed biosynthetically by a polyketide mechanism [13]. The respective

• polyketide synthase gene cluster has not been identified yet. The streptazones are relatively small compounds suggesting that they may be volatile enough to find them in the headspace above bacterial cultures, although the presence of hydrogen bond donor and acceptor sites hints to good solubility in the

4-Hydroxy-6-alkyl-2-pyrones as nucleophilic coupling partners in Mitsunobu reactions and oxa-Michael additions

• Michael J. Burns,
• Thomas O. Ronson,
• Richard J. K. Taylor and
• Ian J. S. Fairlamb

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 1159–1165, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.116

• of pyronyl ethers is useful in itself, the ability to introduce an unsaturated group onto the oxygen, leading to a pyronyl enol ether, would have additional value. This is a highly unusual motif found in some marine polyketide natural products (such as compound 1, Figure 1). Conjugate addition to α,β

Cuevaenes C–E: Three new triene carboxylic derivatives from Streptomyces sp. LZ35ΔgdmAI

• Jing-Jing Deng,
• Chun-Hua Lu,
• Yao-Yao Li,
• Shan-Ren Li and
• Yue-Mao Shen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 858–862, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.82

• triene structural moiety is rarely found in natural products. Streptomyces sp. LZ35 was isolated from the intertidal soil collected at Jimei, Xiamen, China [3]. An orphan type I polyketide synthase gene cluster that contains a putative chorismatase/3-hydroxybenzoate synthase gene was identified by genome

• employed in the polyketide chain extension. In addition, several post-PKS modifications are required to complete the biosynthesis of cuevaenes [4]. In this study, two pairs of geometrical isomers were reported. The difference between the geometrical isomers is the stereoconfiguration of the Δ4,5 double

Synthesis of complex intermediates for the study of a dehydratase from borrelidin biosynthesis

• Frank Hahn,
• Nadine Kandziora,
• Steffen Friedrich and
• Peter F. Leadlay

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 634–640, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.55

• , United Kingdom 10.3762/bjoc.10.55 Abstract Herein, we describe the syntheses of a complex biosynthesis-intermediate analogue of the potent antitumor polyketide borrelidin and of reference molecules to determine the stereoselectivity of the dehydratase of borrelidin polyketide synthase module 3. The

• target molecules were obtained from a common precursor aldehyde in the form of N-acetylcysteamine (SNAc) thioesters and methyl esters in 13 to 15 steps. Key steps for the assembly of the polyketide backbone of the dehydratase substrate analogue were a Yamamoto asymmetric carbocyclisation and a Sakurai

• polyketide-derived thioesters suited for biosynthesis studies. Keywords: aldol reaction; coenzyme A; natural products; pig liver esterase; polyketide biosynthesis; protection groups; Introduction Borrelidin (1) is a macrolactone polyketide natural product with promising antibacterial, antimalarial