The constitution of the antibiotic trichoviridin

Biosynthesis of the Unusual Epoxy Isonitrile-Containing Antibiotics Aerocyanidin and Amycomicin

Aerocyanidin and amycomicin are two antibiotics derived from long-chain acids with a rare epoxy isonitrile moiety, the complexity of which renders the total synthesis of these two natural products rather challenging. How this functionality is biosynthesized has also remained obscure. While the biosynthetic gene clusters for these compounds have been identified, both appear to be deficient in genes encoding enzymes seemingly necessary for the oxidative modifications observed in these antibiotics. Herein, the biosynthetic pathways of aerocyanidin and amycomicin are fully elucidated. They share a conserved pathway to isonitrile intermediates that involves a bifunctional thioesterase and a nonheme iron α-ketoglutarate-dependent enzyme. In both cases, the isonitrile intermediates are then loaded onto an acyl carrier protein (ACP) catalyzed by a ligase. The isonitrile-tethered ACP is subsequently processed by polyketide synthase(s) to undergo chain extension, thereby assembling a long-chain γ-hydroxy isonitrile acid skeleton. The epoxide is installed by the cupin domain-containing protein AecF to conclude the biosynthesis of aerocyanidin. In contrast, three P450 enzymes AmcB, AmcC, and AmcQ are involved in epoxidation and keto formation to finalize the biosynthesis of amycomicin. These results thus explain the sequence of oxidation events that result in the final structures of aerocyanidin and amycomicin as well as the biosynthesis of the key γ-hydroxy epoxy isonitrile functional group.

Crystal Clear: Decoding Isocyanide Intermolecular Interactions through Crystallography

The isocyanide group is the chameleon among the functional groups in organic chemistry. Unlike other multiatom functional groups, where the electrophilic and nucleophilic moieties are typically separated, isocyanides combine both functionalities in the terminal carbon. This unique feature can be rationalized using the frontier orbital concept and has significant implications for its intermolecular interactions and the reactivity of the functional group. In this study, we perform a Cambridge Crystallographic Database-supported analysis of isocyanide intramolecular interactions to investigate the intramolecular interactions of isocyanides in the solid state, excluding isocyanide-metal complexes. We discuss examples of different interaction classes, including the isocyanide as a hydrogen bond acceptor (RNC···HX), halogen bonding (RNC···X), and interactions involving the isocyanide and carbon atoms (RNC···C). The latter interaction serves as an intriguing illustration of a Bürgi-Dunitz trajectory and represents a crucial experimental detail in the well-known multicomponent reactions such as the Ugi- and Passerini-type mechanisms. Understanding the spectrum of intramolecular interactions that isocyanides can undergo holds significant implications in fields such as medicinal chemistry, materials science, and asymmetric catalysis.

Acetylenes and dichloroanisoles from Psathyrella scobinacea

The Et2O extract from Psathyrella scobinacea culture fluids contained three new acetylenic alcohols: deca-5,7,9-triynol, (-)hepta-4,6-diyne-2,3-diol, and (-)hept-cis 4-en-6-yne-2,3-diol; two known dichloroanisoles: 3,5-dichloro-4-methoxybenzaldehyde and 3,5-dichloro-4-methoxybenzyl alcohol; and three known acetylenic acids: octa-2,4,6-triynoic acid, dec-trans-2-ene-4,6,8-triynoic acid and its cis-isomer.

Production of an isonitrile antibiotic by an UV-induced mutant of Trichoderma harzianum

Production of the antibiotic, homothallin II, by a UV-induced mutant strain of Trichoderma harzianum is reported, the wild-type parent of which was not an isonitrile antibiotic-producer. The compound has broad antibiotic activity against Oomycete, Ascomycete and Basidiomycete fungi, and both Gram-positive and -negative bacteria. The significance of the induction of homothallin II is discussed.