A radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine enzyme and a methyltransferase catalyze cyclopropane formation in natural product biosynthesis

Nat Commun. 2018 Jul 17;9(1):2771. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-05217-1.

Abstract

Cyclopropanation of unactivated olefinic bonds via addition of a reactive one-carbon species is well developed in synthetic chemistry, whereas natural cyclopropane biosynthesis employing this strategy is very limited. Here, we identify a two-component cyclopropanase system, composed of a HemN-like radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) enzyme C10P and a methyltransferase C10Q, catalyzes chemically challenging cyclopropanation in the antitumor antibiotic CC-1065 biosynthesis. C10P uses its [4Fe-4S] cluster for reductive cleavage of the first SAM to yield a highly reactive 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical, which abstracts a hydrogen from the second SAM to produce a SAM methylene radical that adds to an sp2-hybridized carbon of substrate to form a SAM-substrate adduct. C10Q converts this adduct to CC-1065 via an intramolecular SN2 cyclization mechanism with elimination of S-adenosylhomocysteine. This cyclopropanation strategy not only expands the enzymatic reactions catalyzed by the radical SAM enzymes and methyltransferases, but also sheds light on previously unnoticed aspects of the versatile SAM-based biochemistry.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / biosynthesis*
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Biocatalysis
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Cyclopropanes / metabolism*
  • Duocarmycins
  • Escherichia coli / genetics
  • Escherichia coli / metabolism
  • Gene Expression
  • Genetic Vectors / chemistry
  • Genetic Vectors / metabolism
  • Indoles / metabolism*
  • Iron / metabolism
  • Iron-Sulfur Proteins / genetics
  • Iron-Sulfur Proteins / metabolism
  • Methyltransferases / genetics
  • Methyltransferases / metabolism*
  • Recombinant Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism
  • S-Adenosylhomocysteine / metabolism
  • S-Adenosylmethionine / metabolism*
  • Streptomyces / enzymology*
  • Streptomyces / genetics
  • Sulfur / metabolism

Substances

  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Cyclopropanes
  • Duocarmycins
  • Indoles
  • Iron-Sulfur Proteins
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • CC 1065
  • Sulfur
  • S-Adenosylmethionine
  • S-Adenosylhomocysteine
  • Iron
  • Methyltransferases