Targeting active site residues and structural anchoring positions in terpene synthases

• Anwei Hou and
• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2441–2449, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.161

• Anwei Hou Jeroen S. Dickschat Kekulé-Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Straße 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany 10.3762/bjoc.17.161 Abstract The sesterterpene synthase SmTS1 from Streptomyces mobaraensis contains several unusual residues in positions that

• from Streptomyces mobaraensis (SmTS1) represents the first identified type I sesterterpene synthase (StTPS) from bacteria [16]. This enzyme converts GFPP into multiple products seven of which could be isolated and structurally characterised as sestermobaraenes A–F (1–6) and sestermobaraol (7) (Figure 2

• from Streptomyces mobaraensis it is possible that some of the usually conserved residues are naturally exchanged, but the enzyme retains its activity. Site-directed mutagenesis with installation of the otherwise conserved residue can lead to an improved activity, as shown for the Q227D variant. In

On the mass spectrometric fragmentations of the bacterial sesterterpenes sestermobaraenes A–C

• Anwei Hou and
• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2807–2819, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.231

• enzymatic conversion of the correspondingly 13C-labelled isoprenyl diphosphate precursors with the sestermobaraene synthase from Streptomyces mobaraensis. The main compounds sestermobaraenes A, B, and C were analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), allowing for a deep mechanistic

• investigation of the electron impact mass spectrometry (EIMS) fragmentation reactions of these sesterterpene hydrocarbons. Keywords: isotopes; mass spectrometry; reaction mechanisms; sesterterpenes; Streptomyces mobaraensis; Introduction The sestermobaraenes A–F (1–6) and sestermobaraol (7) are a series of

• bacterial sesterterpenes that were recently discovered by us from the actinomycete Streptomyces mobaraensis through a genome mining approach (Figure 1) [1]. All seven compounds are produced by a canonical terpene synthase, representing the first reported sesterterpene synthase of the classical type I from