1
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Schwartz R, Zev S, Major DT. Mechanistic docking in terpene synthases using EnzyDock. Methods Enzymol 2024; 699:265-292. [PMID: 38942507 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2024.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/30/2024]
Abstract
Terpene Synthases (TPS) catalyze the formation of multicyclic, complex terpenes and terpenoids from linear substrates. Molecular docking is an important research tool that can further our understanding of TPS multistep mechanisms and guide enzyme design. Standard docking programs are not well suited to tackle the unique challenges of TPS, like the many chemical steps which form multiple stereo-centers, the weak dispersion interactions between the isoprenoid chain and the hydrophobic region of the active site, description of carbocation intermediates, and finding mechanistically meaningful sets of docked poses. To address these and other unique challenges, we developed the multistate, multiscale docking program EnzyDock and used it to study many TPS and other enzymes. In this review we discuss the unique challenges of TPS, the special features of EnzyDock developed to address these challenges and demonstrate its successful use in ongoing research on the bacterial TPS CotB2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renana Schwartz
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology Advanced Materials, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Shani Zev
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology Advanced Materials, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Dan T Major
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology Advanced Materials, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
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2
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Torrence IS, O'Brien TE, Siegel JB, Tantillo DJ. Docking carbocations into terpene synthase active sites using chemically meaningful constraints-The TerDockin approach. Methods Enzymol 2024; 699:231-263. [PMID: 38942505 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2024.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/30/2024]
Abstract
Terpenes are a diverse class of natural products which have long been sought after for their chemical properties as medicine, perfumes, and for food flavoring. Computational docking studies of terpene mechanisms have been a challenge due to the lack of strong directing groups which many docking programs rely on. In this chapter, we dive into our computational method Terdockin (Terpene-Docking) as a successful methodology in modeling terpene synthase mechanisms. This method could also be used as inspiration for any multi-ligand docking project.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian S Torrence
- Department of Chemistry, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Terrence E O'Brien
- Discovery Chemistry, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Justin B Siegel
- Department of Chemistry, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, United States; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, United States; Genome Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, Untied States.
| | - Dean J Tantillo
- Department of Chemistry, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, United States
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3
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Lu X, Bai J, Tian Z, Li C, Ahmed N, Liu X, Cheng J, Lu L, Cai J, Jiang H, Wang W. Cyclization mechanism of monoterpenes catalyzed by monoterpene synthases in dipterocarpaceae. Synth Syst Biotechnol 2024; 9:11-18. [PMID: 38173809 PMCID: PMC10758623 DOI: 10.1016/j.synbio.2023.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Monoterpenoids are typically present in the secretory tissues of higher plants, and their biosynthesis is catalyzed by the action of monoterpene synthases (MTSs). However, the knowledge about these enzymes is restricted in a few plant species. MTSs are responsible for the complex cyclization of monoterpene precursors, resulting in the production of diverse monoterpene products. These enzymatic reactions are considered exceptionally complex in nature. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the catalytic mechanism of MTSs to elucidate their ability to produce diverse or specific monoterpenoid products. In our study, we analyzed thirteen genomes of Dipterocarpaceae and identified 38 MTSs that generate a variety of monoterpene products. By focusing on four MTSs with different product spectra and analyzing the formation mechanism of acyclic, monocyclic and bicyclic products in MTSs, we observed that even a single amino acid mutation can change the specificity and diversity of MTS products, which is due to the synergistic effect between the shape of the active cavity and the stabilization of carbon-positive intermediates that the mutation changing. Notably, residues N340, I448, and phosphoric acid groups were found to be significant contributors to the stabilization of intermediate terpinyl and pinene cations. Alterations in these residues, either directly or indirectly, can impact the synthesis of single monoterpenes or their mixtures. By revealing the role of key residues in the catalytic process and establishing the interaction model between specific residues and complex monoterpenes in MTSs, it will be possible to reasonably design and engineer different catalytic activities into existing MTSs, laying a foundation for the artificial design and industrial application of MTSs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyun Lu
- School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, Shanxi, 710072, China
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-Carbon Manufacturing, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Jie Bai
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-Carbon Manufacturing, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Zunzhe Tian
- School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, Shanxi, 710072, China
| | - Congyu Li
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-Carbon Manufacturing, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Nida Ahmed
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-Carbon Manufacturing, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Xiaonan Liu
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-Carbon Manufacturing, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Jian Cheng
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-Carbon Manufacturing, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Lina Lu
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-Carbon Manufacturing, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Jing Cai
- School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, Shanxi, 710072, China
| | - Huifeng Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-Carbon Manufacturing, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Wen Wang
- School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, Shanxi, 710072, China
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4
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Hardy MA, Hayward Cooke J, Feng Z, Noda K, Kerschgens I, Massey LA, Tantillo DJ, Sarpong R. Unified Synthesis of 2-Isocyanoallopupukeanane and 9-Isocyanopupukeanane through a "Contra-biosynthetic" Rearrangement. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202317348. [PMID: 38032339 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202317348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Herein, we describe our synthetic efforts toward the pupukeanane natural products, in which we have completed the first enantiospecific route to 2-isocyanoallopupukeanane in 10 steps (formal synthesis), enabled by a key Pd-mediated cyclization cascade. This subsequently facilitated an unprecedented bio-inspired "contra-biosynthetic" rearrangement, providing divergent access to 9-isocyanopupukeanane in 15 steps (formal synthesis). Computational studies provide insight into the nature of this rearrangement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa A Hardy
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Jack Hayward Cooke
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Zhitao Feng
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Kenta Noda
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Isabel Kerschgens
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Lynée A Massey
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Dean J Tantillo
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Richmond Sarpong
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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5
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Whitehead J, Leferink NGH, Johannissen LO, Hay S, Scrutton NS. Decoding Catalysis by Terpene Synthases. ACS Catal 2023; 13:12774-12802. [PMID: 37822860 PMCID: PMC10563020 DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.3c03047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Revised: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
The review by Christianson, published in 2017 on the twentieth anniversary of the emergence of the field, summarizes the foundational discoveries and key advances in terpene synthase/cyclase (TS) biocatalysis (Christianson, D. W. Chem Rev2017, 117 (17), 11570-11648. DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.7b00287). Here, we review the TS literature published since then, bringing the field up to date and looking forward to what could be the near future of TS rational design. Many revealing discoveries have been made in recent years, building on the knowledge and fundamental principles uncovered during those initial two decades of study. We use these to explore TS reaction chemistry and see how a combined experimental and computational approach helps to decipher the complexities of TS catalysis. Revealed are a suite of catalytic motifs which control product outcome in TSs, some obvious, some more subtle. We examine each in detail, using the most recent papers and insights to illustrate how exactly this fascinating class of enzymes takes a single acyclic substrate and turns it into the many thousands of complex terpenoids found in Nature. We then explore some of the recent strategies for TS engineering, including machine learning and other data-driven approaches. From this, rational and predictive engineering of TSs, "designer terpene synthases", will begin to emerge as a realistic goal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua
N. Whitehead
- Manchester
Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, United Kingdom
| | - Nicole G. H. Leferink
- Future
Biomanufacturing Research Hub (FBRH), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology,
Department of Chemistry, The University
of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, United
Kingdom
| | - Linus O. Johannissen
- Manchester
Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, United Kingdom
| | - Sam Hay
- Manchester
Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, United Kingdom
| | - Nigel S. Scrutton
- Manchester
Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, United Kingdom
- Future
Biomanufacturing Research Hub (FBRH), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology,
Department of Chemistry, The University
of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, United
Kingdom
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6
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Whitehead JN, Leferink NGH, Komati Reddy G, Levy CW, Hay S, Takano E, Scrutton NS. How a 10- epi-Cubebol Synthase Avoids Premature Reaction Quenching to Form a Tricyclic Product at High Purity. ACS Catal 2022; 12:12123-12131. [PMID: 36249875 PMCID: PMC9552170 DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.2c03155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Terpenes are the largest class of natural products and
are attractive
targets in the fuel, fragrance, pharmaceutical, and flavor industries.
Harvesting terpenes from natural sources is environmentally intensive
and often gives low yields and purities, requiring further downstream
processing. Engineered terpene synthases (TSs) offer a solution to
these problems, but the low sequence identity and high promiscuity
among TSs are major challenges for targeted engineering. Rational
design of TSs requires identification of key structural and chemical
motifs that steer product outcomes. Producing the sesquiterpenoid
10-epi-cubebol from farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP)
requires many steps and some of Nature’s most difficult chemistry.
10-epi-Cubebol synthase from Sorangium
cellulosum (ScCubS) guides a highly reactive carbocationic
substrate through this pathway, preventing early quenching and ensuring
correct stereochemistry at every stage. The cyclizations carried out
by ScCubS potentially represent significant evolutionary expansions
in the chemical space accessible by TSs. Here, we present the high-resolution
crystal structure of ScCubS in complex with both a trinuclear magnesium
cluster and pyrophosphate. Computational modeling, experiment, and
bioinformatic analysis identified residues important in steering the
reaction chemistry. We show that S206 is crucial in 10-epi-cubebol synthesis by enlisting the nearby F211 to shape the active
site contour and prevent the formation of early escape cadalane products.
We also show that N327 and F104 control the distribution between several
early-stage cations and whether the final product is derived from
the germacrane, cadalane, or cubebane hydrocarbon scaffold. Using
these insights, we reengineered ScCubS so that its main product was
germacradien-4-ol, which derives from the germacrane, rather than
the cubebane, scaffold. Our work emphasizes that mechanistic understanding
of cation stabilization in TSs can be used to guide catalytic outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua N. Whitehead
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
| | - Nicole G. H. Leferink
- Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub (FBRH), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
| | - Gajendar Komati Reddy
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
| | - Colin W. Levy
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
| | - Sam Hay
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
| | - Eriko Takano
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
- Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub (FBRH), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
| | - Nigel S. Scrutton
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
- Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub (FBRH), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
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7
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Zev S, Ringel M, Driller R, Loll B, Brück T, Major DT. Understanding the competing pathways leading to hydropyrene and isoelisabethatriene. Beilstein J Org Chem 2022; 18:972-978. [PMID: 35965858 PMCID: PMC9359192 DOI: 10.3762/bjoc.18.97] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Terpene synthases are responsible for the biosynthesis of terpenes, the largest family of natural products. Hydropyrene synthase generates hydropyrene and hydropyrenol as its main products along with two byproducts, isoelisabethatrienes A and B. Fascinatingly, a single active site mutation (M75L) diverts the product distribution towards isoelisabethatrienes A and B. In the current work, we study the competing pathways leading to these products using quantum chemical calculations in the gas phase. We show that there is a great thermodynamic preference for hydropyrene and hydropyrenol formation, and hence most likely in the synthesis of the isoelisabethatriene products kinetic control is at play.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shani Zev
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Marion Ringel
- Werner Siemens Chair of Synthetic Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich, Lichtenbergstraße 4, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Ronja Driller
- Institute for Chemistry and Biochemistry, Structural Biochemistry Laboratory, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany,
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience – DANDRITE, Universitetsbyen 81, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Bernhard Loll
- Institute for Chemistry and Biochemistry, Structural Biochemistry Laboratory, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany,
| | - Thomas Brück
- Werner Siemens Chair of Synthetic Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich, Lichtenbergstraße 4, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Dan T Major
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
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8
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Leferink NGH, Scrutton NS. Predictive Engineering of Class I Terpene Synthases Using Experimental and Computational Approaches. Chembiochem 2022; 23:e202100484. [PMID: 34669250 PMCID: PMC9298401 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202100484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Terpenoids are a highly diverse group of natural products with considerable industrial interest. Increasingly, engineered microbes are used for the production of terpenoids to replace natural extracts and chemical synthesis. Terpene synthases (TSs) show a high level of functional plasticity and are responsible for the vast structural diversity observed in natural terpenoids. Their relatively inert active sites guide intrinsically reactive linear carbocation intermediates along one of many cyclisation paths via exertion of subtle steric and electrostatic control. Due to the absence of a strong protein interaction with these intermediates, there is a remarkable lack of sequence-function relationship within the TS family, making product-outcome predictions from sequences alone challenging. This, in combination with the fact that many TSs produce multiple products from a single substrate hampers the design and use of TSs in the biomanufacturing of terpenoids. This review highlights recent advances in genome mining, computational modelling, high-throughput screening, and machine-learning that will allow more predictive engineering of these fascinating enzymes in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole G. H. Leferink
- Future Biomanufacturing Research HubManchester Institute of BiotechnologyDepartment of ChemistrySchool of Natural SciencesThe University of Manchester131 Princess StreetManchesterM1 7DNUK
| | - Nigel S. Scrutton
- Future Biomanufacturing Research HubManchester Institute of BiotechnologyDepartment of ChemistrySchool of Natural SciencesThe University of Manchester131 Princess StreetManchesterM1 7DNUK
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9
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He W, Tashiro S, Shionoya M. Highly selective acid-catalyzed olefin isomerization of limonene to terpinolene by kinetic suppression of the overreactions in a confined space of porous metal-macrocycle framework. Chem Sci 2022; 13:8752-8758. [PMID: 35975147 PMCID: PMC9350587 DOI: 10.1039/d2sc01561g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural enzymes control the intrinsic reactivity of chemical reactions in the natural environment, giving only the necessary products. In recent years, challenging research on the reactivity control of terpenes with structural diversity using artificial host compounds that mimic such enzymatic reactions has been actively pursued. A typical example is the acid-catalyzed olefin isomerization of (+)-limonene, which generally gives a complex mixture due to over-isomerization to thermodynamically favored isomers. Herein we report a highly controlled conversion of (+)-limonene by kinetic suppression of over-isomerization in a confined space of a porous metal–macrocycle framework (MMF) equipped with a Brønsted acid catalyst. The terminal double bond of (+)-limonene migrated to one neighbor, preferentially producing terpinolene. This reaction selectivity was in stark contrast to the homogeneous acid-catalyzed reaction in bulk solution and to previously reported catalytic reactions. X-ray structural analysis and examination of the reaction with adsorption inhibitors suggest that the reactive substrates may bind non-covalently to specific positions in the confined space of the MMF, thereby inhibiting the over-isomerization reaction. The nanospaces of the MMF with substrate binding ability are expected to enable highly selective synthesis of a variety of terpene compounds. A porous metal–macrocycle framework (MMF) equipped with a Brønsted acid catalyst in nanochannels enables highly selective isomerization of limonene to terpinolene by kinetically suppressing over-isomerization at confined acid sites.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei He
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo Tokyo 113-0033 Japan
| | - Shohei Tashiro
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo Tokyo 113-0033 Japan
| | - Mitsuhiko Shionoya
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo Tokyo 113-0033 Japan
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10
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Zev S, Gupta PK, Pahima E, Major DT. A Benchmark Study of Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Mechanics-Molecular Mechanics Methods for Carbocation Chemistry. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 18:167-178. [PMID: 34905380 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Carbocations play key roles in classical organic reactions and have also been implicated in several enzyme families. A hallmark of carbocation chemistry is multitudes of competing reaction pathways, and to be able to distinguish between pathways with quantum chemical calculations, it is necessary to approach chemical accuracy for relative energies between carbocations. Here, we present an extensive study of the performance of selected density functional theory (DFT) methods in describing the thermochemistry and kinetics of carbocations and their corresponding neutral alkenes both in the gas-phase and within a hybrid quantum mechanics-molecular mechanics (QM/MM) framework. The density functionals are benchmarked against accurate ab initio methods such as CBS-QB3 and DLPNO-CCSD(T). Based on the findings in the gas-phase calculations of carbocations and alkenes, the best functionals are chosen and tested further for non-covalent interactions in model systems using QM and QM/MM methods. We compute the interaction energies between a model carbocation/alkane and model π, dipole, and hydrophobic systems using DFT and QM(DFT)/MM and compare with DLPNO-CCSD(T). These latter model systems are representative of side chains of amino acids such as phenylalanine/tyrosine, tryptophan, asparagine/glutamine, serine/threonine, methionine, and other hydrophobic groups. The Lennard-Jones parameters of the QM atoms in QM(DFT)/MM calculations are modified to obtain an optimal fit with the QM energies. Finally, a selected carbocation reaction is studied in the gas phase and in implicit chloroform solvent using QM and in explicit chloroform solvent using QM/MM and umbrella sampling simulations. This study highlights the highest accuracy possible with selected density functionals and QM/MM methods but also some limitations in using QM/MM methods for carbocation systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shani Zev
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Prashant Kumar Gupta
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Efrat Pahima
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Dan Thomas Major
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
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11
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Sangster JJ, Marshall JR, Turner NJ, Mangas-Sanchez J. New Trends and Future Opportunities in the Enzymatic Formation of C-C, C-N, and C-O bonds. Chembiochem 2021; 23:e202100464. [PMID: 34726813 PMCID: PMC9401909 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202100464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Organic chemistry provides society with fundamental products we use daily. Concerns about the impact that the chemical industry has over the environment is propelling major changes in the way we manufacture chemicals. Biocatalysis offers an alternative to other synthetic approaches as it employs enzymes, Nature's catalysts, to carry out chemical transformations. Enzymes are biodegradable, come from renewable sources, operate under mild reaction conditions, and display high selectivities in the processes they catalyse. As a highly multidisciplinary field, biocatalysis benefits from advances in different areas, and developments in the fields of molecular biology, bioinformatics, and chemical engineering have accelerated the extension of the range of available transformations (E. L. Bell et al., Nat. Rev. Meth. Prim. 2021, 1, 1-21). Recently, we surveyed advances in the expansion of the scope of biocatalysis via enzyme discovery and protein engineering (J. R. Marshall et al., Tetrahedron 2021, 82, 131926). Herein, we focus on novel enzymes currently available to the broad synthetic community for the construction of new C-C, C-N and C-O bonds, with the purpose of providing the non-specialist with new and alternative tools for chiral and sustainable chemical synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack J Sangster
- Department of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - James R Marshall
- Department of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Nicholas J Turner
- Department of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Juan Mangas-Sanchez
- Institute of Chemical Synthesis and Homogeneous Catalysis, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Pedro Cerbuna 12, 50009, Zaragoza, Spain.,ARAID Foundation, Zaragoza, Spain
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12
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Raz K, Driller R, Dimos N, Ringel M, Brück T, Loll B, Major DT. The Impression of a Nonexisting Catalytic Effect: The Role of CotB2 in Guiding the Complex Biosynthesis of Cyclooctat-9-en-7-ol. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:21562-21574. [PMID: 33289561 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c11348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Terpene synthases generate terpenes employing diversified carbocation chemistry, including highly specific ring formations, proton and hydride transfers, and methyl as well as methylene migrations, followed by reaction quenching. In this enzyme family, the main catalytic challenge is not rate enhancement, but rather structural and reactive control of intrinsically unstable carbocations in order to guide the resulting product distribution. Here we employ multiscale modeling within classical and quantum dynamics frameworks to investigate the reaction mechanism in the diterpene synthase CotB2, commencing with the substrate geranyl geranyl diphosphate and terminating with the carbocation precursor to the final product cyclooctat-9-en-7-ol. The 11-step in-enzyme carbocation cascade is compared with the same reaction in the absence of the enzyme. Remarkably, the free energy profiles in gas phase and in CotB2 are surprisingly similar. This similarity contrasts the multitude of strong π-cation, dipole-cation, and ion-pair interactions between all intermediates in the reaction cascade and the enzyme, suggesting a remarkable balance of interactions in CotB2. We ascribe this balance to the similar magnitude of the interactions between the carbocations along the reaction coordinate and the enzyme environment. The effect of CotB2 mutations is studied using multiscale mechanistic docking, machine learning, and X-ray crystallography, pointing the way for future terpene synthase design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keren Raz
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Ronja Driller
- Institut für Chemie und Biochemie, Strukturbiochemie, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Nicole Dimos
- Institut für Chemie und Biochemie, Strukturbiochemie, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Marion Ringel
- Werner Siemens Chair of Synthetic Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Lichtenbergstr. 4, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Thomas Brück
- Werner Siemens Chair of Synthetic Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Lichtenbergstr. 4, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Bernhard Loll
- Institut für Chemie und Biochemie, Strukturbiochemie, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Dan Thomas Major
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
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13
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Malico AA, Calzini MA, Gayen AK, Williams GJ. Synthetic biology, combinatorial biosynthesis, and chemo‑enzymatic synthesis of isoprenoids. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 47:675-702. [PMID: 32880770 PMCID: PMC7666032 DOI: 10.1007/s10295-020-02306-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Isoprenoids are a large class of natural products with myriad applications as bioactive and commercial compounds. Their diverse structures are derived from the biosynthetic assembly and tailoring of their scaffolds, ultimately constructed from two C5 hemiterpene building blocks. The modular logic of these platforms can be harnessed to improve titers of valuable isoprenoids in diverse hosts and to produce new-to-nature compounds. Often, this process is facilitated by the substrate or product promiscuity of the component enzymes, which can be leveraged to produce novel isoprenoids. To complement rational enhancements and even re-programming of isoprenoid biosynthesis, high-throughput approaches that rely on searching through large enzymatic libraries are being developed. This review summarizes recent advances and strategies related to isoprenoid synthetic biology, combinatorial biosynthesis, and chemo-enzymatic synthesis, focusing on the past 5 years. Emerging applications of cell-free biosynthesis and high-throughput tools are included that culminate in a discussion of the future outlook and perspective of isoprenoid biosynthetic engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Miles A Calzini
- Department of Chemistry, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Anuran K Gayen
- Department of Chemistry, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Gavin J Williams
- Department of Chemistry, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.
- Comparative Medicine Institute, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.
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14
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Raz K, Levi S, Gupta PK, Major DT. Enzymatic control of product distribution in terpene synthases: insights from multiscale simulations. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2020; 65:248-258. [PMID: 32679412 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2020.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Revised: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 06/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
In this opinion, we review some recent work on terpene biosynthesis using multiscale simulation approaches, with special focus on contributions from our group. Terpene synthases generate terpenes employing rich carbocation chemistry, including highly specific ring formations, proton, hydride, methyl, and methylene migrations, followed by reaction quenching. In these enzymes, the main catalytic challenge is not rate enhancement, but rather control of intrinsically reactive carbocations and the resulting product distribution. Herein, we review multiscale simulations of selected mono-, sesqui-, and diterpene synthases. We point to the many tools adopted by terpene synthases to achieve correct substrate fold, carbocation formation, carbocation reaction environment, and reaction quenching. A better understanding of the toolbox employed by terpene synthases is expected to aid in the search for new enzymatic and biomimetic synthetic routes to natural and unnatural terpenes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keren Raz
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Shani Levi
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Prashant Kumar Gupta
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Dan Thomas Major
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel.
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15
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Exploring the catalytic cascade of cembranoid biosynthesis by combination of genetic engineering and molecular simulations. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2020; 18:1819-1829. [PMID: 32695274 PMCID: PMC7365961 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2020.06.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2020] [Revised: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
While chemical steps involved in bioactive cembranoid biosynthesis have been examined, the corresponding enzymatic mechanisms leading to their formation remain elusive. In the tobacco plant, Nicotiana tabacum, a putative cembratriene-ol synthase (CBTS) initiates the catalytic cascade that lead to the biosynthesis of cembratriene-4,6-diols, which displays antibacterial- and anti-proliferative activities. We report here on structural homology models, functional studies, and mechanistic explorations of this enzyme using a combination of biosynthetic and computational methods. This approach guided us to develop an efficient de novo production of five bioactive non- and monohydroxylated cembranoids. Our homology models in combination with quantum and classical simulations suggested putative principles of the CBTS catalytic cycle, and provided a possible rationale for the formation of premature olefinic side products. Moreover, the functional reconstruction of a N. tabacum-derived class II P450 with a cognate CPR, obtained by transcriptome mining provided for production of bioactive cembratriene-4,6-diols. Our combined findings provide mechanistic insights into cembranoid biosynthesis, and a basis for the sustainable industrial production of highly valuable bioactive cembranoids.
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16
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Levi S, Zhang Q, Major DT. Thermodynamic and Kinetic Control Determine the Sesquiterpene Reaction Pathways Inside Nanocapsules. ACS Catal 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.0c00278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shani Levi
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Qi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Technology of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, 29 Wangjiang Road, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, P.R. China
| | - Dan T. Major
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
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17
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Tantillo DJ. Interrogating chemical mechanisms in natural products biosynthesis using quantum chemical calculations. WIRES COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR SCIENCE 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/wcms.1453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dean J. Tantillo
- Department of Chemistry University of California–Davis Davis California
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18
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McCulley CH, Tantillo DJ. Predicting Rearrangement-Competent Terpenoid Oxidation Levels. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:6060-6065. [PMID: 32157874 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.9b12398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Results of density functional theory calculations on rearrangements of potential biosynthetic precursors to the sesquiterpenoid illisimonin A reveal that only some possible precursors, those with certain specific oxidation patterns, are rearrangement-competent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina H McCulley
- Department of Chemistry, University of California - Davis, Davis, California 95616, United States
| | - Dean J Tantillo
- Department of Chemistry, University of California - Davis, Davis, California 95616, United States
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19
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Syntrivanis LD, Némethová I, Schmid D, Levi S, Prescimone A, Bissegger F, Major DT, Tiefenbacher K. Four-Step Access to the Sesquiterpene Natural Product Presilphiperfolan-1β-ol and Unnatural Derivatives via Supramolecular Catalysis. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:5894-5900. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c01464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Ivana Némethová
- Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, Mattenstrasse 24a, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Dario Schmid
- Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, Mattenstrasse 24a, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Shani Levi
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Alessandro Prescimone
- Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, Mattenstrasse 24a, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Fabian Bissegger
- Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, Mattenstrasse 24a, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Dan T. Major
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Konrad Tiefenbacher
- Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, Mattenstrasse 24a, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 24, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
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20
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Raz K, Driller R, Brück T, Loll B, Major DT. Understanding the role of active site residues in CotB2 catalysis using a cluster model. Beilstein J Org Chem 2020; 16:50-59. [PMID: 31976016 PMCID: PMC6964657 DOI: 10.3762/bjoc.16.7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Terpene cyclases are responsible for the initial cyclization cascade in the multistep synthesis of a large number of terpenes. CotB2 is a diterpene cyclase from Streptomyces melanosporofaciens, which catalyzes the formation of cycloocta-9-en-7-ol, a precursor to the next-generation anti-inflammatory drug cyclooctatin. In this work, we present evidence for the significant role of the active site's residues in CotB2 on the reaction energetics using quantum mechanical calculations in an active site cluster model. The results revealed the significant effect of the active site residues on the relative electronic energy of the intermediates and transition state structures with respect to gas phase data. A detailed understanding of the role of the enzyme environment on the CotB2 reaction cascade can provide important information towards a biosynthetic strategy for cyclooctatin and the biomanufacturing of related terpene structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keren Raz
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Ronja Driller
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Laboratory of Structural Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
- present address: Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 10, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- present address: Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience - DANDRITE, Nordic-EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Thomas Brück
- Werner Siemens Chair of Synthetic Biotechnology, Dept. of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Lichtenbergstr. 4, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Bernhard Loll
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Laboratory of Structural Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Dan T Major
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
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21
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Zhang F, An T, Tang X, Zi J, Luo HB, Wu R. Enzyme Promiscuity versus Fidelity in Two Sesquiterpene Cyclases (TEAS versus ATAS). ACS Catal 2019. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.9b05051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Fan Zhang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Tianyue An
- Biotechnological Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
| | - Xiaowen Tang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Jiachen Zi
- Biotechnological Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
| | - Hai-Bin Luo
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Ruibo Wu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
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22
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Zhang Q, Catti L, Syntrivanis LD, Tiefenbacher K. En route to terpene natural products utilizing supramolecular cyclase mimetics. Nat Prod Rep 2019; 36:1619-1627. [PMID: 31021352 DOI: 10.1039/c9np00003h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Covering: literature up to 2018 Terpenes are a class of natural products characterized by remarkable structural diversity. Much of this diversity arises biosynthetically from a handful of linear precursors through the so-called tail-to-head terpene cyclization reaction. This reaction is one of the most complex observed in nature, and historically attempts to replicate it with non-enzymatic means have met with little success. In recent years, however, the development of manmade binding pockets that allow such reactions to take place has been reported. This Highlight provides an overview of this nascent field, and outlines the challenges that need to be overcome moving forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Technology of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, China
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23
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Driller R, Garbe D, Mehlmer N, Fuchs M, Raz K, Major DT, Brück T, Loll B. Current understanding and biotechnological application of the bacterial diterpene synthase CotB2. Beilstein J Org Chem 2019; 15:2355-2368. [PMID: 31666870 PMCID: PMC6808215 DOI: 10.3762/bjoc.15.228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
CotB2 catalyzes the first committed step in cyclooctatin biosynthesis of the soil bacterium Streptomyces melanosporofaciens. To date, CotB2 represents the best studied bacterial diterpene synthase. Its reaction mechanism has been addressed by isoptope labeling, targeted mutagenesis and theoretical computations in the gas phase, as well as full enzyme molecular dynamic simulations. By X-ray crystallography different snapshots of CotB2 from the open, inactive, to the closed, active conformation have been obtained in great detail, allowing us to draw detailed conclusions regarding the catalytic mechanism at the molecular level. Moreover, numerous alternative geranylgeranyl diphosphate cyclization products obtained by CotB2 mutagenesis have exciting applications for the sustainable production of high value bioactive substances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronja Driller
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Laboratory of Structural Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
- present address: Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 10, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- present address: Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience - DANDRITE, Nordic-EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Daniel Garbe
- Werner Siemens Chair of Synthetic Biotechnology, Dept. of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Lichtenbergstr. 4, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Norbert Mehlmer
- Werner Siemens Chair of Synthetic Biotechnology, Dept. of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Lichtenbergstr. 4, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Monika Fuchs
- Werner Siemens Chair of Synthetic Biotechnology, Dept. of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Lichtenbergstr. 4, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Keren Raz
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Dan Thomas Major
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Thomas Brück
- Werner Siemens Chair of Synthetic Biotechnology, Dept. of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Lichtenbergstr. 4, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Bernhard Loll
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Laboratory of Structural Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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24
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Sato H, Mitsuhashi T, Yamazaki M, Abe I, Uchiyama M. Inherent atomic mobility changes in carbocation intermediates during the sesterterpene cyclization cascade. Beilstein J Org Chem 2019; 15:1890-1897. [PMID: 31467610 PMCID: PMC6693403 DOI: 10.3762/bjoc.15.184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We previously showed that the regio- and stereoselectivity in terpene-forming reactions are determined by the conformations of the carbocation intermediates, which reflect the initial conformation of the substrate, geranylfarnesyl diphosphate (GFPP). However, it remains unclear how the initial conformation of GFPP is controlled, and which part(s) of the GFPP molecule are important for its fixation inside the substrate-binding pocket. Here, we present the first detailed analysis of the inherent atomic mobility in carbocation intermediates during sesterterpene biosynthesis. We identified two methyl groups as the least mobile of all the carbons of the carbocation intermediates in the first half of the cyclization cascade. Our analysis suggests that these two methyl groups are critical for the preorganization of GFPP in the biosynthetic pathways leading to sesterfisherol and quiannulatene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hajime Sato
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8675, Japan.,Clustering of Pioneering Research (CPR) Advanced Elements Chemistry Laboratory, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Takaaki Mitsuhashi
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Mami Yamazaki
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8675, Japan
| | - Ikuro Abe
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Masanobu Uchiyama
- Clustering of Pioneering Research (CPR) Advanced Elements Chemistry Laboratory, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.,Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
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25
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Das S, Shimshi M, Raz K, Nitoker Eliaz N, Mhashal AR, Ansbacher T, Major DT. EnzyDock: Protein–Ligand Docking of Multiple Reactive States along a Reaction Coordinate in Enzymes. J Chem Theory Comput 2019; 15:5116-5134. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.9b00366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Susanta Das
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Mor Shimshi
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Keren Raz
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | | | - Anil Ranu Mhashal
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Tamar Ansbacher
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
- Hadassah Academic College, 7 Hanevi’im Street, Jerusalem 9101001, Israel
| | - Dan T. Major
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
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26
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Leferink NGH, Ranaghan KE, Karuppiah V, Currin A, van der Kamp MW, Mulholland AJ, Scrutton NS. Experiment and Simulation Reveal How Mutations in Functional Plasticity Regions Guide Plant Monoterpene Synthase Product Outcome. ACS Catal 2019; 8:3780-3791. [PMID: 31157124 PMCID: PMC6542672 DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.8b00692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Monoterpenes (C10 isoprenoids) are a structurally diverse group of natural compounds that are attractive to industry as flavours and fragrances. Monoterpenes are produced from a single linear substrate, geranyl diphosphate, by a group of enzymes called the monoterpene cyclases/synthases (mTC/Ss) that catalyse high-energy cyclisation reactions involving unstable carbocation intermediates. Efforts towards producing monoterpenes via biocatalysis or metabolic engineering often result in the formation of multiple products due to the nature of the highly branched reaction mechanism of mTC/Ss. Rational engineering of mTC/Ss is hampered by the lack of correlation between the active site sequence and cyclisation type. We used available mutagenesis data to show that amino acids involved in product outcome are clustered and spatially conserved within the mTC/S family. Consensus sequences for three such plasticity regions were introduced in different mTC/S with increasingly complex cyclisation cascades, including the model enzyme limonene synthase (LimS). In all three mTC/S studied, mutations in the first two regions mostly give rise to products that result from premature quenching of the linalyl or α-terpinyl cations, suggesting that both plasticity regions are involved in the formation and stabilisation of cations early in the reaction cascade. A LimS variant with mutations in the second region (S454G, C457V, M458I), produced mainly more complex bicyclic products. QM/MM MD simulations reveal that the second cyclisation is not due to compression of the C2-C7 distance in the α-terpinyl cation, but is the result of an increased distance between C8 of the α-terpinyl cation and two putative bases (W324, H579) located on the other side of the active site, preventing early termination by deprotonation. Such insights into the impact of mutations can only be obtained using integrated experimental and computational approaches, and will aid the design of altered mTC/S activities towards clean monoterpenoid products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole G. H. Leferink
- Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Speciality Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
| | - Kara E. Ranaghan
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K
| | - Vijaykumar Karuppiah
- Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Speciality Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
| | - Andrew Currin
- Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Speciality Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
| | - Marc W. van der Kamp
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K
| | - Adrian J. Mulholland
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K
| | - Nigel S. Scrutton
- Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Speciality Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
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27
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van Rijn JPM, Escorcia AM, Thiel W. QM/MM study of the taxadiene synthase mechanism. J Comput Chem 2019; 40:1902-1910. [DOI: 10.1002/jcc.25846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2019] [Revised: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrés M. Escorcia
- Max‐Planck‐Institut für Kohlenforschung Kaiser‐Wilhelm‐Platz 1, 45470 Mülheim Germany
| | - Walter Thiel
- Max‐Planck‐Institut für Kohlenforschung Kaiser‐Wilhelm‐Platz 1, 45470 Mülheim Germany
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28
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Pahima E, Zhang Q, Tiefenbacher K, Major DT. Discovering Monoterpene Catalysis Inside Nanocapsules with Multiscale Modeling and Experiments. J Am Chem Soc 2019; 141:6234-6246. [PMID: 30907083 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b13411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Large-scale production of natural products, such as terpenes, presents a significant scientific and technological challenge. One promising approach to tackle this problem is chemical synthesis inside nanocapsules, although enzyme-like control of such chemistry has not yet been achieved. In order to better understand the complex chemistry inside nanocapsules, we design a multiscale nanoreactor simulation approach. The nanoreactor simulation protocol consists of hybrid quantum mechanics-molecular mechanics-based high temperature Langevin molecular dynamics simulations. Using this approach we model the tail-to-head formation of monoterpenes inside a resorcin[4]arene-based capsule (capsule I). We provide a rationale for the experimentally observed kinetics of monoterpene product formation and product distribution using capsule I, and we explain why additional stable monoterpenes, like camphene, are not observed. On the basis of the in-capsule I simulations, and mechanistic insights, we propose that feeding the capsule with pinene can yield camphene, and this proposal is verified experimentally. This suggests that the capsule may direct the dynamic reaction cascades by virtue of π-cation interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Efrat Pahima
- Department of Chemistry , Bar-Ilan University , Ramat-Gan 52900 , Israel
| | - Qi Zhang
- Department of Chemistry , University of Basel , Mattenstrasse 24a , 4058 Basel , Switzerland
| | - Konrad Tiefenbacher
- Department of Chemistry , University of Basel , Mattenstrasse 24a , 4058 Basel , Switzerland.,Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering , ETH Zurich , Mattenstrasse 24 , 4058 Basel , Switzerland
| | - Dan T Major
- Department of Chemistry , Bar-Ilan University , Ramat-Gan 52900 , Israel
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29
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Vattekkatte A, Garms S, Brandt W, Boland W. Enhanced structural diversity in terpenoid biosynthesis: enzymes, substrates and cofactors. Org Biomol Chem 2019; 16:348-362. [PMID: 29296983 DOI: 10.1039/c7ob02040f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The enormous diversity of terpenes found in nature is generated by enzymes known as terpene synthases, or cyclases. Some are also known for their ability to convert a single substrate into multiple products. This review comprises monoterpene and sesquiterpene synthases that are multiproduct in nature along with the regulation factors that can alter the product specificity of multiproduct terpene synthases without genetic mutations. Variations in specific assay conditions with focus on shifts in product specificity based on change in metal cofactors, assay pH and substrate geometry are described. Alterations in these simple cellular conditions provide the organism with enhanced chemodiversity without investing into new enzymatic architecture. This versatility to modulate product diversity grants organisms, especially immobile ones like plants with access to an enhanced defensive repertoire by simply altering cofactors, pH level and substrate geometry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abith Vattekkatte
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Beutenberg Campus, Hans-Knöll-Strasse 8, D-07745 Jena, Germany.
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30
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Burkhardt I, Kreuzenbeck NB, Beemelmanns C, Dickschat JS. Mechanistic characterization of three sesquiterpene synthases from the termite-associated fungus Termitomyces. Org Biomol Chem 2019; 17:3348-3355. [DOI: 10.1039/c8ob02744g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Three terpene synthases from the termite associated fungus Termitomyces were studied by isotopic labelling experiments and site-directed mutagenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Immo Burkhardt
- Kekulé-Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry
- University of Bonn
- 53121 Bonn
- Germany
| | - Nina B. Kreuzenbeck
- Leibnitz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology
- Hans-Knöll-Institute
- 07745 Jena
- Germany
| | - Christine Beemelmanns
- Leibnitz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology
- Hans-Knöll-Institute
- 07745 Jena
- Germany
| | - Jeroen S. Dickschat
- Kekulé-Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry
- University of Bonn
- 53121 Bonn
- Germany
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31
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Karunanithi PS, Zerbe P. Terpene Synthases as Metabolic Gatekeepers in the Evolution of Plant Terpenoid Chemical Diversity. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2019; 10:1166. [PMID: 31632418 PMCID: PMC6779861 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 133] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Terpenoids comprise tens of thousands of small molecule natural products that are widely distributed across all domains of life. Plants produce by far the largest array of terpenoids with various roles in development and chemical ecology. Driven by selective pressure to adapt to their specific ecological niche, individual species form only a fraction of the myriad plant terpenoids, typically representing unique metabolite blends. Terpene synthase (TPS) enzymes are the gatekeepers in generating terpenoid diversity by catalyzing complex carbocation-driven cyclization, rearrangement, and elimination reactions that enable the transformation of a few acyclic prenyl diphosphate substrates into a vast chemical library of hydrocarbon and, for a few enzymes, oxygenated terpene scaffolds. The seven currently defined clades (a-h) forming the plant TPS family evolved from ancestral triterpene synthase- and prenyl transferase-type enzymes through repeated events of gene duplication and subsequent loss, gain, or fusion of protein domains and further functional diversification. Lineage-specific expansion of these TPS clades led to variable family sizes that may range from a single TPS gene to families of more than 100 members that may further function as part of modular metabolic networks to maximize the number of possible products. Accompanying gene family expansion, the TPS family shows a profound functional plasticity, where minor active site alterations can dramatically impact product outcome, thus enabling the emergence of new functions with minimal investment in evolving new enzymes. This article reviews current knowledge on the functional diversity and molecular evolution of the plant TPS family that underlies the chemical diversity of bioactive terpenoids across the plant kingdom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prema S Karunanithi
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Philipp Zerbe
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, United States
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32
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Sato H, Saito K, Yamazaki M. Acceleration of Mechanistic Investigation of Plant Secondary Metabolism Based on Computational Chemistry. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2019; 10:802. [PMID: 31293608 PMCID: PMC6606707 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Accepted: 06/04/2019] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
This review describes the application of computational chemistry to plant secondary metabolism, focusing on the biosynthetic mechanisms of terpene/terpenoid, alkaloid, flavonoid, and lignin as representative examples. Through these biosynthetic studies, we exhibit several computational methods, including density functional theory (DFT) calculations, theozyme calculation, docking simulation, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculation. This review demonstrates how modern computational chemistry can be employed as an effective tool for revealing biosynthetic mechanisms and the potential of computational chemistry-for example, elucidating how enzymes regulate regio- and stereoselectivity, finding the key catalytic residue of an enzyme, and assessing the viability of hypothetical pathways. Furthermore, insights for the next research objective involving application of computational chemistry to plant secondary metabolism are provided herein. This review will be helpful for plant scientists who are not well versed with computational chemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hajime Sato
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
- Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Advanced Elements Chemistry Laboratory, Cluster for Pioneering Research (CPR), RIKEN, Saitama, Japan
| | - Kazuki Saito
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
- RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Mami Yamazaki
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
- *Correspondence: Mami Yamazaki,
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33
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Driller R, Janke S, Fuchs M, Warner E, Mhashal AR, Major DT, Christmann M, Brück T, Loll B. Towards a comprehensive understanding of the structural dynamics of a bacterial diterpene synthase during catalysis. Nat Commun 2018; 9:3971. [PMID: 30266969 PMCID: PMC6162201 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06325-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Terpenes constitute the largest and structurally most diverse natural product family. Most terpenoids exhibit a stereochemically complex macrocyclic core, which is generated by C–C bond forming of aliphatic oligo-prenyl precursors. This reaction is catalysed by terpene synthases (TPSs), which are capable of chaperoning highly reactive carbocation intermediates through an enzyme-specific reaction. Due to the instability of carbocation intermediates, the proteins’ structural dynamics and enzyme:substrate interactions during TPS catalysis remain elusive. Here, we present the structure of the diterpene synthase CotB2, in complex with an in crystallo cyclised abrupt reaction product and a substrate-derived diphosphate. We captured additional snapshots of the reaction to gain an overview of CotB2’s catalytic mechanism. To enhance insights into catalysis, structural information is augmented with multiscale molecular dynamic simulations. Our data represent fundamental TPS structure dynamics during catalysis, which ultimately enable rational engineering towards tailored terpene macrocycles that are inaccessible by conventional chemical synthesis. The bacterial diterpene synthase CotB2 catalyses the cyclisation of geranylgeranyl diphosphate to cyclooctat-9-en7-ol. Here the authors present various CotB2 structures including a trapped abrupt reaction product that were used for molecular dynamic simulations and allowed them to model all intermediates along the reaction cascade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronja Driller
- Institut für Chemie und Biochemie, Strukturbiochemie, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sophie Janke
- Institut für Chemie und Biochemie, Organische Chemie, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Monika Fuchs
- Werner Siemens Chair of Synthetic Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Lichtenbergstr. 4, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Evelyn Warner
- Institut für Chemie und Biochemie, Organische Chemie, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Anil R Mhashal
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel
| | - Dan Thomas Major
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel
| | - Mathias Christmann
- Institut für Chemie und Biochemie, Organische Chemie, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas Brück
- Werner Siemens Chair of Synthetic Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Lichtenbergstr. 4, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Bernhard Loll
- Institut für Chemie und Biochemie, Strukturbiochemie, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
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34
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Ansbacher T, Freud Y, Major DT. Slow-Starter Enzymes: Role of Active-Site Architecture in the Catalytic Control of the Biosynthesis of Taxadiene by Taxadiene Synthase. Biochemistry 2018; 57:3773-3779. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.8b00452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tamar Ansbacher
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
- Hadassah Academic College, 7 Hanevi’im Street, Jerusalem 9101001, Israel
| | - Yehoshua Freud
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Dan Thomas Major
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
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35
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O’Brien TE, Bertolani SJ, Zhang Y, Siegel JB, Tantillo DJ. Predicting Productive Binding Modes for Substrates and Carbocation Intermediates in Terpene Synthases-Bornyl Diphosphate Synthase as a Representative Case. ACS Catal 2018; 8:3322-3330. [PMID: 30034923 PMCID: PMC6049084 DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.8b00342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Terpene synthases comprise a family of enzymes that convert acyclic oligo-isoprenyl diphosphates to terpene natural products with complex, polycyclic carbon backbones via the generation and protection of carbocation intermediates. To accommodate this chemistry, terpene synthase active sites generally are lined with alkyl and aromatic, i.e., nonpolar, sidechains. Predicting the correct, mechanistically relevant binding modes for entire terpene synthase reaction pathways remains an unsolved challenge. Here we describe a method for identifying such modes: TerDockin, a series of protocols to predict the orientation of carbon skeletons of substrates and derived carbocations relative to the bound diphosphate group in terpene synthase active sites. Using this recipe for bornyl diphosphate synthase, we have predicted binding modes that are consistent with all current experimental observations, including the results of isotope labeling experiments and known stereoselectivity. In addition, the predicted binding modes recapitulate key findings of a seminal study involving more computationally demanding QM/MM molecular dynamics methods on part of this pathway. This work illustrates the value of the TerDockin approach as a starting point for more involved calculations and sets the stage for the rational engineering of this family of enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terrence E. O’Brien
- Department of Chemistry, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Steven J. Bertolani
- Department of Chemistry, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Yue Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Justin B. Siegel
- Department of Chemistry, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA
- Genome Center, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Dean J. Tantillo
- Department of Chemistry, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA
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36
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Burkhardt I, Dickschat JS. The absolute configuration of isochamigrene: new insights into the cyclisation mechanism of trichodiene synthase. Chem Commun (Camb) 2018; 54:3540-3542. [DOI: 10.1039/c8cc01744a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The enantioselective synthesis of isochamigrene clarified its absolute configuration and biosynthetic relation to trichodiene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Immo Burkhardt
- Kekulé-Institut für Organische Chemie und Biochemie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
- 53121 Bonn
- Germany
| | - Jeroen S. Dickschat
- Kekulé-Institut für Organische Chemie und Biochemie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
- 53121 Bonn
- Germany
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37
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Xu J, Xu J, Ai Y, Farid RA, Tong L, Yang D. Mutational analysis and dynamic simulation of S-limonene synthase reveal the importance of Y573: Insight into the cyclization mechanism in monoterpene synthases. Arch Biochem Biophys 2017; 638:27-34. [PMID: 29225126 DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2017.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2017] [Revised: 12/05/2017] [Accepted: 12/06/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Monoterpene synthases carry out complex reactions to produce multiple products from a sole substrate, geranyl pyrophosphate (GPP). S-limonene synthase (LS) is a model monoterpene synthase that can be explored to understand the catalytic mechanism of these enzymes. In this study, we have identified an active site tyrosine residue (Y573) is crucial for the enzyme activity and mutational analysis indicates that both the aromatic ring and hydroxyl group are essential for the catalysis. Dynamic simulations found a hydrogen bond between Y573 and D496 and also a significant conformational change in the helical form of the LPP intermediate. Further mutagenesis suggested that this hydrogen bond is essential for catalysis. Sequence analysis suggested Y573 is completely conserved among cyclic monoterpene synthases but variable in acyclic enzymes, indicating this residue may be involved in cyclization. Subsequent studies by using neryl diphosphate (NPP) as the substrate ruled out the possibility that Y573 functions solely at the substrate isomerization step. Therefore, a more complicated role may be played by this residue. We proposed that Y573 may be involved in the earlier steps of the reaction, probably by controlling the conformation of the helical LPP intermediate. Our study provides important insights not only on the catalytic mechanism of LS, but also on the cyclization of monoterpene synthases in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinkun Xu
- Gene Engineering and Biotechnology Beijing Key Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 China
| | - Jingwei Xu
- Gene Engineering and Biotechnology Beijing Key Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 China
| | - Ying Ai
- Gene Engineering and Biotechnology Beijing Key Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 China
| | - Roba A Farid
- Gene Engineering and Biotechnology Beijing Key Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 China
| | - Li Tong
- Gene Engineering and Biotechnology Beijing Key Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 China
| | - Dong Yang
- Gene Engineering and Biotechnology Beijing Key Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 China.
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38
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Eriksson A, Kürten C, Syrén P. Protonation-Initiated Cyclization by a Class II Terpene Cyclase Assisted by Tunneling. Chembiochem 2017; 18:2301-2305. [PMID: 28980755 PMCID: PMC5725671 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201700443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2017] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Terpenes represent one of the most diversified classes of natural products with potent biological activities. The key to the myriad of polycyclic terpene skeletons with crucial functions in organisms from all kingdoms of life are terpene cyclase enzymes. These biocatalysts enable stereospecific cyclization of relatively simple, linear, prefolded polyisoprenes by highly complex, partially concerted, electrophilic cyclization cascades that remain incompletely understood. Herein, additional mechanistic light is shed on terpene biosynthesis by kinetic studies in mixed H2 O/D2 O buffers of a class II bacterial ent-copalyl diphosphate synthase. Mass spectrometry determination of the extent of deuterium incorporation in the bicyclic product, reminiscent of initial carbocation formation by protonation, resulted in a large kinetic isotope effect of up to seven. Kinetic analysis at different temperatures confirmed that the isotope effect was independent of temperature, which is consistent with hydrogen tunneling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Eriksson
- School of Chemical Science and EngineeringKTH Royal Institute of Technology100 44StockholmSweden
| | - Charlotte Kürten
- Science for Life LaboratoryKTH Royal Institute of TechnologySchool of BiotechnologyDivision of Proteomics171 21StockholmSweden
| | - Per‐Olof Syrén
- School of Chemical Science and EngineeringKTH Royal Institute of Technology100 44StockholmSweden
- Science for Life LaboratoryKTH Royal Institute of TechnologySchool of BiotechnologyDivision of Proteomics171 21StockholmSweden
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39
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Bastian SA, Hammer SC, Kreß N, Nestl BM, Hauer B. Selectivity in the Cyclization of Citronellal Introduced by Squalene Hopene Cyclase Variants. ChemCatChem 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/cctc.201700734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Silke A. Bastian
- Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, Chair of Technical Biochemistry; Universitaet Stuttgart; Allmandring 31 70569 Stuttgart Germany
| | - Stephan C. Hammer
- Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, Chair of Technical Biochemistry; Universitaet Stuttgart; Allmandring 31 70569 Stuttgart Germany
| | - Nico Kreß
- Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, Chair of Technical Biochemistry; Universitaet Stuttgart; Allmandring 31 70569 Stuttgart Germany
| | - Bettina M. Nestl
- Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, Chair of Technical Biochemistry; Universitaet Stuttgart; Allmandring 31 70569 Stuttgart Germany
| | - Bernhard Hauer
- Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, Chair of Technical Biochemistry; Universitaet Stuttgart; Allmandring 31 70569 Stuttgart Germany
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40
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Freud Y, Ansbacher T, Major DT. Catalytic Control in the Facile Proton Transfer in Taxadiene Synthase. ACS Catal 2017. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.7b02824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yehoshua Freud
- Department
of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Tamar Ansbacher
- Department
of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
- Hadassah Academic College, 7 Hanevi’im
Street, Jerusalem 9101001, Israel
| | - Dan Thomas Major
- Department
of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
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41
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Dixit M, Weitman M, Gao J, Major DT. Comment on "Substrate Folding Modes in Trichodiene Synthase: A Determinant of Chemo- and Stereoselectivity". ACS Catal 2017; 8:1371-1375. [PMID: 29805842 DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.7b02823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Wang et al. recently reported an in silico study of the trichodiene synthase (TDS) conversion of farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) to trichodiene (TD) (Wang et al., ACS Catal. 2017, 7, 5841-5846). Although the methods and level of theory used in that work are nearly identical to our own recent work on this system (Dixit et al., ACS Catal. 2017, 7, 812-818), Wang et al. reach rather different conclusions. The authors claimed to obtain a "very credible" mechanism for the biosynthesis of TD and optimized the optimal folding mode of FPP in the 1,6-ring closure in TDS. However, the folding mode of the FPP substrate that was presented contradicts well-established NMR and mass spectrometry data. Moreover, the authors make numerous incorrect statements regarding our earlier work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mudit Dixit
- Department
of Chemistry and the Lise Meitner-Minerva Center of Computational
Quantum Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Michal Weitman
- Department
of Chemistry and the Lise Meitner-Minerva Center of Computational
Quantum Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Jiali Gao
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
- Theoretical
Chemistry Institute, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, P.R. China
| | - Dan T. Major
- Department
of Chemistry and the Lise Meitner-Minerva Center of Computational
Quantum Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
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42
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Karuppiah V, Ranaghan KE, Leferink NGH, Johannissen LO, Shanmugam M, Ní Cheallaigh A, Bennett NJ, Kearsey LJ, Takano E, Gardiner JM, van der Kamp MW, Hay S, Mulholland AJ, Leys D, Scrutton NS. Structural Basis of Catalysis in the Bacterial Monoterpene Synthases Linalool Synthase and 1,8-Cineole Synthase. ACS Catal 2017; 7:6268-6282. [PMID: 28966840 PMCID: PMC5617326 DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.7b01924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2017] [Revised: 08/04/2017] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Terpenoids form the largest and stereochemically most diverse class of natural products, and there is considerable interest in producing these by biocatalysis with whole cells or purified enzymes, and by metabolic engineering. The monoterpenes are an important class of terpenes and are industrially important as flavors and fragrances. We report here structures for the recently discovered Streptomyces clavuligerus monoterpene synthases linalool synthase (bLinS) and 1,8-cineole synthase (bCinS), and we show that these are active biocatalysts for monoterpene production using biocatalysis and metabolic engineering platforms. In metabolically engineered monoterpene-producing E. coli strains, use of bLinS leads to 300-fold higher linalool production compared with the corresponding plant monoterpene synthase. With bCinS, 1,8-cineole is produced with 96% purity compared to 67% from plant species. Structures of bLinS and bCinS, and their complexes with fluorinated substrate analogues, show that these bacterial monoterpene synthases are similar to previously characterized sesquiterpene synthases. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that these monoterpene synthases do not undergo large-scale conformational changes during the reaction cycle, making them attractive targets for structured-based protein engineering to expand the catalytic scope of these enzymes toward alternative monoterpene scaffolds. Comparison of the bLinS and bCinS structures indicates how their active sites steer reactive carbocation intermediates to the desired acyclic linalool (bLinS) or bicyclic 1,8-cineole (bCinS) products. The work reported here provides the analysis of structures for this important class of monoterpene synthase. This should now guide exploitation of the bacterial enzymes as gateway biocatalysts for the production of other monoterpenes and monoterpenoids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vijaykumar Karuppiah
- BBSRC/EPSRC
Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Specialty
Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K.
| | - Kara E. Ranaghan
- Centre
for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
| | - Nicole G. H. Leferink
- BBSRC/EPSRC
Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Specialty
Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K.
| | - Linus O. Johannissen
- BBSRC/EPSRC
Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Specialty
Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K.
| | - Muralidharan Shanmugam
- BBSRC/EPSRC
Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Specialty
Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K.
| | - Aisling Ní Cheallaigh
- BBSRC/EPSRC
Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Specialty
Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K.
| | - Nathan J. Bennett
- BBSRC/EPSRC
Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Specialty
Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K.
| | - Lewis J. Kearsey
- BBSRC/EPSRC
Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Specialty
Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K.
| | - Eriko Takano
- BBSRC/EPSRC
Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Specialty
Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K.
| | - John M. Gardiner
- BBSRC/EPSRC
Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Specialty
Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K.
| | - Marc W. van der Kamp
- Centre
for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
| | - Sam Hay
- BBSRC/EPSRC
Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Specialty
Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K.
| | - Adrian J. Mulholland
- Centre
for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
| | - David Leys
- BBSRC/EPSRC
Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Specialty
Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K.
| | - Nigel S. Scrutton
- BBSRC/EPSRC
Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Specialty
Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K.
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Abstract
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The
year 2017 marks the twentieth anniversary of terpenoid cyclase
structural biology: a trio of terpenoid cyclase structures reported
together in 1997 were the first to set the foundation for understanding
the enzymes largely responsible for the exquisite chemodiversity of
more than 80000 terpenoid natural products. Terpenoid cyclases catalyze
the most complex chemical reactions in biology, in that more than
half of the substrate carbon atoms undergo changes in bonding and
hybridization during a single enzyme-catalyzed cyclization reaction.
The past two decades have witnessed structural, functional, and computational
studies illuminating the modes of substrate activation that initiate
the cyclization cascade, the management and manipulation of high-energy
carbocation intermediates that propagate the cyclization cascade,
and the chemical strategies that terminate the cyclization cascade.
The role of the terpenoid cyclase as a template for catalysis is paramount
to its function, and protein engineering can be used to reprogram
the cyclization cascade to generate alternative and commercially important
products. Here, I review key advances in terpenoid cyclase structural
and chemical biology, focusing mainly on terpenoid cyclases and related
prenyltransferases for which X-ray crystal structures have informed
and advanced our understanding of enzyme structure and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- David W Christianson
- Roy and Diana Vagelos Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania , 231 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6323, United States
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44
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Wang YH, Xie H, Zhou J, Zhang F, Wu R. Substrate Folding Modes in Trichodiene Synthase: A Determinant of Chemo- and Stereoselectivity. ACS Catal 2017. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.7b01462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yong-Heng Wang
- School
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
| | - Hujun Xie
- Department
of Applied Chemistry, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310035, P. R. China
| | - Jingwei Zhou
- School
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
| | - Fan Zhang
- School
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
| | - Ruibo Wu
- School
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
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45
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan T. Major
- Department of Chemistry and
the Lise Meitner-Minerva Center of Computational Quantum Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
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46
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A conserved threonine prevents self-intoxication of enoyl-thioester reductases. Nat Chem Biol 2017; 13:745-749. [PMID: 28504678 DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.2375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2016] [Accepted: 02/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Enzymes are highly specific biocatalysts, yet they can promote unwanted side reactions. Here we investigated the factors that direct catalysis in the enoyl-thioester reductase Etr1p. We show that a single conserved threonine is essential to suppress the formation of a side product that would otherwise act as a high-affinity inhibitor of the enzyme. Substitution of this threonine with isosteric valine increases side-product formation by more than six orders of magnitude, while decreasing turnover frequency by only one order of magnitude. Our results show that the promotion of wanted reactions and the suppression of unwanted side reactions operate independently at the active site of Etr1p, and that the active suppression of side reactions is highly conserved in the family of medium-chain dehydrogenases/reductases (MDRs). Our discovery emphasizes the fact that the active destabilization of competing transition states is an important factor during catalysis that has implications for the understanding and the de novo design of enzymes.
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Dixit M, Weitman M, Gao J, Major DT. Chemical Control in the Battle against Fidelity in Promiscuous Natural Product Biosynthesis: The Case of Trichodiene Synthase. ACS Catal 2017; 7:812-818. [PMID: 29399379 PMCID: PMC5793923 DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.6b02584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Terpene cyclases catalyze the highly stereospecific molding of polyisoprenes into terpenes, which are precursors to most known natural compounds. The isoprenoids are formed via intricate chemical cascades employing rich, yet highly erratic, carbocation chemistry. It is currently not well understood how these biocatalysts achieve chemical control. Here, we illustrate the catalytic control exerted by trichodiene synthase, and in particular, we discover two features that could be general catalytic tools adopted by other terpenoid cyclases. First, to avoid formation of byproducts, the enzyme raises the energy of bisabolyl carbocation, which is a general mechanistic branching point in many sesquiterpene cyclases, resulting in an essentially concerted cyclization cascade. Second, we identify a sulfur-carbocation dative bonding interaction that anchors the bisabolyl cation in a reactive conformation, avoiding tumbling and premature deprotonation. Specifically, Met73 acts as a chameleon, shifting from an initial sulfur-π interaction in the Michaelis complex to a sulfur-carbocation complex during catalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mudit Dixit
- Department of Chemistry and the Lise Meitner-Minerva Center of Computational Quantum Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Michal Weitman
- Department of Chemistry and the Lise Meitner-Minerva Center of Computational Quantum Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Jiali Gao
- Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
- Theoretical Chemistry Institute, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, P.R. China
| | - Dan T. Major
- Department of Chemistry and the Lise Meitner-Minerva Center of Computational Quantum Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
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Das S, Dixit M, Major DT. First principles model calculations of the biosynthetic pathway in selinadiene synthase. Bioorg Med Chem 2016; 24:4867-4870. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2016.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2016] [Revised: 06/30/2016] [Accepted: 07/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Biosynthetic potential of sesquiterpene synthases: product profiles of Egyptian Henbane premnaspirodiene synthase and related mutants. J Antibiot (Tokyo) 2016; 69:524-33. [PMID: 27328867 DOI: 10.1038/ja.2016.68] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2016] [Revised: 05/03/2016] [Accepted: 05/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The plant terpene synthase (TPS) family is responsible for the biosynthesis of a variety of terpenoid natural products possessing diverse biological functions. TPSs catalyze the ionization and, most commonly, rearrangement and cyclization of prenyl diphosphate substrates, forming linear and cyclic hydrocarbons. Moreover, a single TPS often produces several minor products in addition to a dominant product. We characterized the catalytic profiles of Hyoscyamus muticus premnaspirodiene synthase (HPS) and compared it with the profile of a closely related TPS, Nicotiana tabacum 5-epi-aristolochene synthase (TEAS). The profiles of two previously studied HPS and TEAS mutants, each containing nine interconverting mutations, dubbed HPS-M9 and TEAS-M9, were also characterized. All four TPSs were compared under varying temperature and pH conditions. In addition, we solved the X-ray crystal structures of TEAS and a TEAS quadruple mutant complexed with substrate and products to gain insight into the enzymatic features modulating product formation. These informative structures, along with product profiles, provide new insight into plant TPS catalytic promiscuity.
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O'Brien TE, Bertolani SJ, Tantillo DJ, Siegel JB. Mechanistically informed predictions of binding modes for carbocation intermediates of a sesquiterpene synthase reaction. Chem Sci 2016; 7:4009-4015. [PMID: 30155043 PMCID: PMC6013805 DOI: 10.1039/c6sc00635c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2016] [Accepted: 03/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Sesquiterpenoids comprise a class of terpenoid natural products with thousands of compounds that are highly diverse in structure, generally containing a polycyclic carbon backbone that is constructed by a sesquiterpene synthase. Decades of experimental and computational studies have demonstrated that these enzymes generate a carbocation in the active site, which undergoes a series of structural rearrangements until a product is formed via deprotonation or nucleophile attack. However, for the vast majority of these enzymes the productive binding orientation of the intermediate carbocations has remained unclear. In this work, a method that combines quantum mechanics and computational docking is used to generate an all-atom model of every putative intermediate formed in the context of the enzyme active site for tobacco epi-aristolochene synthase (TEAS). This method identifies a single pathway that links the first intermediate to the last, enabling us to propose the first high-resolution model for the reaction intermediates in the active site of TEAS, and providing testable predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- T E O'Brien
- Department of Chemistry , University of California Davis , Davis , California , USA . ;
| | - S J Bertolani
- Department of Chemistry , University of California Davis , Davis , California , USA . ;
| | - D J Tantillo
- Department of Chemistry , University of California Davis , Davis , California , USA . ;
| | - J B Siegel
- Department of Chemistry , University of California Davis , Davis , California , USA . ; .,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine , University of California Davis , Davis , California , USA.,Genome Center , University of California Davis , Davis , California , USA
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