Polyketide Synthase Acyl Carrier Protein Research Articles

Mutagenesis Supports AlphaFold Prediction of How Modular Polyketide Synthase Acyl Carrier Proteins Dock With Downstream Ketosynthases.

The docking of an acyl carrier protein (ACP) domain with a downstream ketosynthase (KS) domain in each module of a polyketide synthase (PKS) helps ensure accurate biosynthesis. If the polyketide chain bound to the ACP has been properly modified by upstream processing enzymes and is compatible with gatekeeping residues in the KS tunnel, a transacylation reaction can transfer it from the 18.1-Å phosphopantetheinyl arm of the ACP to the reactive cysteine of the KS. AlphaFold-Multimer predicts a general interface for these transacylation checkpoints. Half of the solutions obtained for 50 ACP/KS pairs show the KS motif TxLGDP forming the first turn of an α-helix, as in reported structures, while half show it forming a type I β-turn not previously observed. Solutions with the latter conformation may represent how these domains are relatively positioned during the transacylation reaction, as the entrance to the KS active site is relatively open and the phosphopantetheinylated ACP serine and the reactive KS cysteine are relatively closer-17.2 versus 20.9 Å, on average. To probe the predicted interface, 20 mutations were made to KS surface residues within the model triketide lactone synthase P1-P6-P7. The activities of these mutants are consistent with the proposed interface.

Characterization of Unexpected Self-Acylation Activity of Acyl Carrier Proteins in a Modular Type I Apicomplexan Polyketide Synthase.

Natural products play critical roles as antibiotics, anticancer therapeutics, and biofuels. Polyketides are a distinct natural product class of structurally diverse secondary metabolites that are synthesized by polyketide synthases (PKSs). The biosynthetic gene clusters that encode PKSs have been found across nearly all realms of life, but those from eukaryotic organisms are relatively understudied. A type I PKS from the eukaryotic apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii,TgPKS2, was recently discovered through genome mining, and the functional acyltransferase (AT) domains were found to be selective for malonyl-CoA substrates. To further characterize TgPKS2, we resolved assembly gaps within the gene cluster, which confirmed that the encoded protein consists of three distinct modules. We subsequently isolated and biochemically characterized the four acyl carrier protein (ACP) domains within this megaenzyme. We observed self-acylation─or substrate acylation without an AT domain─for three of the four TgPKS2 ACP domains with CoA substrates. Furthermore, CoA substrate specificity and kinetic parameters were determined for all four unique ACPs. TgACP2-4 were active with a wide scope of CoA substrates, while TgACP1 from the loading module was found to be inactive for self-acylation. Previously, self-acylation has only been observed in type II systems, which are enzymes that act in-trans with one another, and this represents the first report of this activity in a modular type I PKS whose domains function in-cis. Site-directed mutagenesis of specific TgPKS2 ACP3 acidic residues near the phosphopantetheinyl arm demonstrated that they influence self-acylation activity and substrate specificity, possibly by influencing substrate coordination or phosphopantetheinyl arm activation. Further, the lack of TgPKS2 ACP self-acylation with acetoacetyl-CoA, which is utilized by previously characterized type II PKS systems, suggests that the substrate carboxyl group may be critical for TgPKS2 ACP self-acylation. The unexpected properties observed from T. gondii PKS ACP domains highlight their distinction from well-characterized microbial and fungal systems. This work expands our understanding of ACP self-acylation beyond type II systems and helps pave the way for future studies on biosynthetic enzymes from eukaryotes.

Engineered Chimeras Unveil Swappable Modular Features of Fatty Acid and Polyketide Synthase Acyl Carrier Proteins.

The strategic redesign of microbial biosynthetic pathways is a compelling route to access molecules of diverse structure and function in a potentially environmentally sustainable fashion. The promise of this approach hinges on an improved understanding of acyl carrier proteins (ACPs), which serve as central hubs in biosynthetic pathways. These small, flexible proteins mediate the transport of molecular building blocks and intermediates to enzymatic partners that extend and tailor the growing natural products. Past combinatorial biosynthesis efforts have failed due to incompatible ACP-enzyme pairings. Herein, we report the design of chimeric ACPs with features of the actinorhodin polyketide synthase ACP (ACT) and of the Escherichia coli fatty acid synthase (FAS) ACP (AcpP). We evaluate the ability of the chimeric ACPs to interact with the E. coli FAS ketosynthase FabF, which represents an interaction essential to building the carbon backbone of the synthase molecular output. Given that AcpP interacts with FabF but ACT does not, we sought to exchange modular features of ACT with AcpP to confer functionality with FabF. The interactions of chimeric ACPs with FabF were interrogated using sedimentation velocity experiments, surface plasmon resonance analyses, mechanism-based cross-linking assays, and molecular dynamics simulations. Results suggest that the residues guiding AcpP-FabF compatibility and ACT-FabF incompatibility may reside in the loop I, α-helix II region. These findings can inform the development of strategic secondary element swaps that expand the enzyme compatibility of ACPs across systems and therefore represent a critical step toward the strategic engineering of "un-natural" natural products.

Heterologous Expression, Purification, and Characterization of Type II Polyketide Synthase Acyl Carrier Proteins.

The enzymes that comprise type II polyketide synthases (PKSs) are powerful biocatalysts that, once well-understood and strategically applied, could enable cost-effective and sustainable access to a range of pharmaceutically relevant molecules. Progress toward this goal hinges on gaining ample access to materials for in vitro characterizations and structural analysis of the components of these synthases. A central component of PKSs is the acyl carrier protein (ACP), which serves as a hub during the biosynthesis of type II polyketides. Herein, we share methods for accessing type II PKS ACPs via heterologous expression in E. coli . We also share how the installation of reactive and site-specific spectroscopic probes can be leveraged to study the conformational dynamics and interactions of type II PKS ACPs.

Modular type I polyketide synthase acyl carrier protein domains share a common N-terminally extended fold

Acyl carrier protein (ACP) domains act as interaction hubs within modular polyketide synthase (PKS) systems, employing specific protein-protein interactions to present acyl substrates to a series of enzyme active sites. Many domains from the multimodular PKS that generates the toxin mycolactone display an unusually high degree of sequence similarity, implying that the few sites which vary may do so for functional reasons. When domain boundaries based on prior studies were used to prepare two isolated ACP segments from this system for studies of their interaction properties, one fragment adopted the expected tertiary structure, but the other failed to fold, despite sharing a sequence identity of 49%. Secondary structure prediction uncovered a previously undetected helical region (H0) that precedes the canonical helix-bundle ACP topology in both cases. This article reports the NMR solution structures of two N-terminally extended mycolactone mACP constructs, mH0ACPa and mH0ACPb, both of which possess an additional α-helix that behaves like a rigid component of the domain. The interactions of these species with a phosphopantetheinyl transferase and a ketoreductase domain are unaffected by the presence of H0, but a shorter construct that lacks the H0 region is shown to be substantially less thermostable than mH0ACPb. Bioinformatics analysis suggests that the extended H0-ACP motif is present in 98% of type I cis-acyltransferase PKS chain-extension modules. The polypeptide linker that connects an H0-ACP motif to the preceding domain must therefore be ~12 residues shorter than previously thought, imposing strict limits on ACP-mediated substrate delivery within and between PKS modules.

The Effect of Divalent Cations on the Thermostability of Type II Polyketide Synthase Acyl Carrier Proteins.

The successful engineering of biosynthetic pathways hinges on understanding the factors that influence acyl carrier protein (ACP) stability and function. The stability and structure of ACPs can be influenced by the presence of divalent cations, but how this relates to primary sequence remains poorly understood. As part of a course-based undergraduate research experience, we investigated the thermostability of type II polyketide synthase (PKS) ACPs. We observed an approximate 40 °C range in the thermostability amongst the 14 ACPs studied, as well as an increase in stability (5 - 26 °C) of the ACPs in the presence of divalent cations. Distribution of charges in the helix II-loop-helix III region was found to impact the enthalpy of denaturation. Taken together, our results reveal clues as to how the sequence of type II PKS ACPs relates to their structural stability, information that can be used to study how ACP sequence relates to function.

In Vitro Investigation of Crosstalk between Fatty Acid and Polyketide Synthases in the Andrimid Biosynthetic Assembly Line.

Andrimid (Adm) synthase, which belongs to the type II system of enzymes, produces Adm in Pantoea agglomerans. The adm biosynthetic gene cluster lacks canonical acyltransferases (ATs) to load the malonyl group to acyl carrier proteins (ACPs), thus suggesting that a malonyl-CoA ACP transacylase (MCAT) from the fatty acid synthase (FAS) complex provides the essential AT activity in Adm biosynthesis. Here we report that an MCAT is essential for catalysis of the transacylation of malonate from malonyl-CoA to AdmA polyketide synthase (PKS) ACP in vitro. Catalytic self-malonylation of AdmA (PKS ACP) was not observed in reactions without MCAT, although many type II PKS ACPs are capable of catalyzing self-acylation. This lack of self-malonylation was explained by amino acid sequence analysis of the AdmA PKS ACP and the type II PKS ACPs. The results show that MCAT from the organism's FAS complex can provide the missing AT activity in trans, thus suggesting a protein-protein interaction between the fatty acid and polyketide synthases in the Adm assembly line.

Binding and pKa Modulation of a Polycyclic Substrate Analogue in a Type II Polyketide Acyl Carrier Protein

Type II polyketide synthases are biosynthetic enzymatic pathways responsible for the production of complex aromatic natural products with important biological activities. In these systems, biosynthetic intermediates are covalently bound to a small acyl carrier protein that associates with the synthase enzymes and delivers the bound intermediate to each active site. In the closely related fatty acid synthases of bacteria and plants, the acyl carrier protein acts to sequester and protect attached intermediates within its helices. Here we investigate the type II polyketide synthase acyl carrier protein from the actinorhodin biosynthetic pathway and demonstrate its ability to internalize the tricyclic, polar molecule emodic acid. Elucidating the interaction of acyl carrier proteins with bound analogues resembling late-stage intermediates in the actinorhodin pathway could prove valuable in efforts to engineer these systems toward rational design and biosynthesis of novel compounds.

Insights into Protein-Protein and Enzyme-Substrate Interactions in Modular Polyketide Synthases

Numerous natural products of clinical value are biosynthesized by polyketide synthases (PKSs) and nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs), which are multienzymes comprising modules of catalytic domains. The key players in each module are carrier proteins, which serve as attachment points for the growing substrate chains. Thus, the details of carrier protein-based substrate delivery to each active site are central to understanding chain assembly in these systems. In the enterobactin NRPS, communication between a peptidyl carrier protein (PCP) and the adjacent thioesterase (TE) domain occurs through formation of a compact complex. Using NMR, we show that the corresponding interaction between a PKS acyl carrier protein (ACP) and its downstream TE is fundamentally different: chain transfer occurs in the absence of a protein-protein interface, with contact limited to the substrate acyl terminus.

Structure and Malonyl CoA-ACP Transacylase Binding of Streptomyces coelicolor Fatty Acid Synthase Acyl Carrier Protein

Malonylation of an acyl carrier protein (ACP) by malonyl Coenzyme A-ACP transacylase (MCAT) is fundamental to bacterial fatty acid biosynthesis. Here, we report the structure of the Steptomyces coelicolor (Sc) fatty acid synthase (FAS) ACP and studies of its binding to MCAT. The carrier protein adopts an alpha-helical bundle structure common to other known carrier proteins. The Sc FAS ACP shows close structural homology with other fatty acid ACPs and less similarity with Sc actinorhodin (act) polyketide synthase (PKS) ACP where the orientation of helix I differs. NMR experiments were used to map the binding of ACP to MCAT. This data suggests that Sc FAS ACP interacts with MCAT through the negatively charged helix II of ACP, consistent with proposed models for ACP recognition by other FAS enzymes. Differential roles for residues at the interface are demonstrated using site-directed mutagenesis and in vitro assays. MCAT has been suggested, moreover, to participate in bacterial polyketide synthesis in vivo. We demonstrate that the affinity of the polyketide synthase ACP for MCAT is lower than that of the FAS ACP. Mutagenesis of homologous helix II residues on the polyketide synthase ACP suggests that the PKS ACP may bind to MCAT in a different manner than the FAS counterpart.

Determination of the extent of phosphopantetheinylation of polyketide synthases expressed in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A sensitive fluorescent assay was developed to measure the extent of phosphopantetheinylation of polyketide synthase (PKS) acyl carrier protein (ACP) domains in polyketide production strains. The in vitro assay measures PKS fluorescence after transfer of fluorescently labeled phosphopantetheine from coenzyme A to PKS ACP domains in crude protein extracts. The assay was used to determine the extent of phosphopantetheinylation of ACP domains of the erythromycin precursor polyketide synthase, 6-deoxyerythronolide B synthase (DEBS), expressed in a heterologous Escherichia coli polyketide production strain. The data showed that greater than 99.9% of DEBS is phosphopantetheinylated. The assay was also used to interrogate the extent of phosphopantetheinylation of the lovastatin nonaketide synthase (LNKS) heterologously expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The data showed that LNKS was efficiently phosphopantetheinylated in S. cerevisiae and that lack of production of the lovastatin precursor polyketide was not due to insufficient phosphopantetheinylation of the expressed synthase.

Probing the Interactions of Early Polyketide Intermediates with the Actinorhodin ACP from S. coelicolor A3(2)

Acyl carrier proteins (ACPs) are essential to both fatty acid synthase (FAS) and polyketide synthase (PKS) biosynthetic pathways, yet relatively little is known about how they function at a molecular level. Seven thiol ester and thiol ether derivatives of the actinorhodin (act) PKS ACP from Streptomyces coelicolor have been prepared and structurally characterised by NMR to gain insight into ACP-intermediate interactions. Holo ACP synthase has been used to prepare early-stage ACP intermediates of polyketide biosynthesis (holo ACP, acetyl ACP, and malonyl ACP) from the respective coenzyme A derivatives. A synthetic route to stabilised thiol ether ACPs was developed and applied to the preparation of stable 3-oxobutyl and 3,5-dioxohexyl ACP as diketide and triketide analogues. No interaction between the protein and the acyl phosphopantetheine moieties of acetyl, malonyl, or 3-oxobutyl ACP was detected. Analysis of (1)H-(15)N heteronuclear single quantum coherence and nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy spectra for the triketide ACP revealed exchange between a major ('Tri', 85%) and a minor protein conformer in which the polyketide interacts with the protein ('Tri(*)', 15%). Act ACP was also derivatised with butyryl, hexanoyl, and octanoyl groups. The corresponding NMR spectra showed large chemical shift perturbations centred on helices II and III, indicative of acyl chain binding and significant structural rearrangement. Unexpectedly, butyryl act ACP showed almost identical backbone (1)H-(15)N chemical shifts to Tri(*), suggesting comparable structural changes that might provide insight into the structurally uncharacterised polyketide bound form. Furthermore, butyryl ACP itself underwent slow conformational exchange with a second minor conformer (But(*)) with almost identical backbone chemical shifts to octanoyl act ACP. High-resolution NMR structures of these acylated forms revealed that act ACP was able to undergo dramatic conformational changes that exceed those seen in FAS ACPs. When compared to E. coli FAS ACP, the substrate binding pocket of the act PKS ACP has three specific amino acid substitutions (Thr39/Leu45, Ala68/Leu74, and Leu42/Thr48) that alter the size, shape, and location of this cavity. These conformational changes may play a role in protein-protein recognition and assist the binding of bulky polyketide intermediates.

An ACP Structural Switch: Conformational Differences between the Apo and Holo Forms of the Actinorhodin Polyketide Synthase Acyl Carrier Protein

The actinorhodin (act) synthase acyl carrier protein (ACP) from Streptomyces coelicolor plays a central role in polyketide biosynthesis. Polyketide intermediates are bound to the free sulfhydryl group of a phosphopantetheine arm that is covalently linked to a conserved serine residue in the holo form of the ACP. The solution NMR structures of both the apo and holo forms of the ACP are reported, which represents the first high resolution comparison of these two forms of an ACP. Ensembles of twenty apo and holo structures were calculated and yielded atomic root mean square deviations of well-ordered backbone atoms to the average coordinates of 0.37 and 0.42 A, respectively. Three restraints defining the protein to the phosphopantetheine interface were identified. Comparison of the apo and holo forms revealed previously undetected conformational changes. Helix III moved towards helix II (contraction of the ACP), and Leu43 on helix II subtly switched from being solvent exposed to forming intramolecular interactions with the newly added phosphopantetheine side chain. Tryptophan fluorescence and S. coelicolor fatty acid synthase (FAS) holo-synthase (ACPS) assays indicated that apo-ACP has a twofold higher affinity (K(d) of 1.1 muM) than holo-ACP (K(d) of 2.1 muM) for ACPS. Site-directed mutagenesis of Leu43 and Asp62 revealed that both mutations affect binding, but have differential affects on modification by ACPS. Leu43 mutations in particular strongly modulate binding affinity for ACPS. Comparison of apo- and holo-ACP structures with known models of the Bacillus subtilis FAS ACP-holo-acyl carrier protein synthase (ACPS) complex suggests that conformational modulation of helix II and III between apo- and holo-ACP could play a role in dissociation of the ACP-ACPS complex.

Identification of a starter unit acyl-carrier protein transacylase domain in an iterative type I polyketide synthase.

Polyketides are a class of natural products that exhibit a wide range of functional and structural diversity. They include antibiotics, immunosuppressants, antifungals, antihypercholesterolemics, and cytotoxins. Polyketide synthases (PKSs) use chemistry similar to fatty acid synthases (FASs), although building block variation and differing extents of reduction of the growing polyketide chain underlie their biosynthetic versatility. In contrast to the well studied sequential modular type I PKSs, less is known about how the iterative type I PKSs carry out and control chain initiation, elongation, folding, and cyclization during polyketide processing. Domain structure analysis of a group of related fungal, nonreducing PKSs has revealed well defined N-terminal domains longer than commonly seen for FASs and modular PKSs. Predicted structure of this domain disclosed a region similar to malonyl-CoA:acyl-carrier protein (ACP) transacylases (MATs). MATs play a key role transferring precursor CoA thioesters from solution onto FASs and PKSs for chain elongation. On the basis of site-directed mutagenesis, radiolabeling, and kinetics experiments carried out with individual domains of the norsolorinic acid PKS, we propose that the N-terminal domain is a starter unit:ACP transacylase (SAT domain) that selects a C(6) fatty acid from a dedicated yeast-like FAS and transfers this unit onto the PKS ACP, leading to the production of the aflatoxin precursor, norsolorinic acid. These findings could indicate a much broader role for SAT domains in starter unit selection among nonreducing iterative, fungal PKSs, and they provide a biochemical rationale for the classical acetyl "starter unit effect."

The Malonyl Transferase Activity of Type II Polyketide Synthase Acyl Carrier Proteins

Acyl carrier proteins (ACPs) play a fundamental role in directing intermediates among the enzyme active sites of fatty acid and polyketide synthases (PKSs). In this paper, we demonstrate that the Streptomyces coelicolor (S. coelicolor) actinorhodin (act) PKS ACP can catalyze transfer of malonate to type II S. coelicolor fatty acid synthase (FAS) and other PKS ACPs in vitro. The reciprocal transfer from S. coelicolor FAS ACP to a PKS ACP was not observed. Several mutations in both act ACP and S. coelicolor FAS ACP could be classified by their participation in either donation or acceptance of this malonyl group. These mutations indicated that self-malonylation and malonyl transfer could be completely decoupled, implying that they were separate processes and that a FAS ACP could be converted from a non-malonyl-transferring protein to one with malonyl transferase activity.

Self-Malonylation Is an Intrinsic Property of a Chemically Synthesized Type II Polyketide Synthase Acyl Carrier Protein,

During polyketide biosynthesis, malonyl groups are transferred to the acyl carrier protein (ACP) component of the polyketide synthase (PKS), and it has been shown that a number of type II polyketide ACPs undergo rapid self-acylation from malonyl-CoA in the absence of a malonyl-CoA:holo-acyl carrier protein transacylase (MCAT). More recently, however, the observation of self-malonylation has been ascribed to contamination with Escherichia coli MCAT (FabD) rather than an intrinsic property of the ACP. The wild-type apo-ACP from the actinorhodin (act) PKS of Streptomyces coelicolor (synthetic apo-ACP) has therefore been synthesized using solid-state peptide methods and refolded using the GroEL/ES chaperone system from E. coli. Correct folding of the act ACP has been confirmed by circular dichroism (CD) and 1H NMR. Synthetic apo-ACP was phosphopantetheinylated to 100% by S. coelicolor holo-acyl carrier protein synthase (ACPS), and the resultant holo-ACP underwent self-malonylation in the presence of malonyl-CoA. No malonylation of negative controls was observed, confirming that the use of ACPS and GroEL/ES did not introduce contamination with E. coli MCAT. This result proves unequivocally that self-malonylation is an inherent activity of this PKS ACP in vitro.

The type I rat fatty acid synthase ACP shows structural homology and analogous biochemical properties to type II ACPs.

While X-ray and NMR structures are now available for most components of the Type II fatty acid synthase (FAS), there are no structures for Type I FAS domains. A region from the mammalian (rat) FAS, including the putative acyl carrier protein (ACP), has been cloned and over-expressed. Here we report multinuclear, multidimensional NMR studies which show that this isolated ACP domain contains four alpha-helices (residues 8-16 [1]; 41-51 [2]; 58-63 [3] and 66-74 [4]) and an overall global fold characteristic of ACPs from both Type II FAS and polyketide synthases (PKSs). The overall length of the structured ACP domain (67 residues) is smaller than the structured regions of the Eschericia coli FAS ACP (75 residues), the actinorhodin PKS ACP (78 residues) and the Bacillus subtilis FAS ACP (76 residues). We further show that the rat FAS ACP is recognised as an efficient substrate by enzymes known to modify Type II ACPs including phosphopantetheinyl and malonyl transferases, but not by the heterologous S. coelicolor minimal polyketide synthase.

Solution Structure of B. subtilis Acyl Carrier Protein

Background: Acyl carrier protein (ACP) is a fundamental component of fatty acid biosynthesis in which the fatty acid chain is elongated by the fatty acid synthetase system while attached to the 4′-phosphopantetheine prosthetic group (4′-PP) of ACP. Activation of ACP is mediated by holo-acyl carrier protein synthase (ACPS) when ACPS transfers the 4′-PP moiety from coenzyme A (CoA) to Ser36 of apo-ACP. Both ACP and ACPS have been identified as essential for E. coli viability and potential targets for development of antibiotics. Results: The solution structure of B. subtilis ACP (9 kDa) has been determined using two-dimensional and three-dimensional heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy. A total of 22 structures were calculated by means of hybrid distance geometry-simulated annealing using a total of 1050 experimental NMR restraints. The atomic rmsd about the mean coordinate positions for the 22 structures is 0.45 ± 0.08 Å for the backbone atoms and 0.93 ± 0.07 Å for all atoms. The overall ACP structure consists of a four α-helical bundle in which 4′-PP is attached to the conserved Ser36 that is located in α helix II. Conclusions: Structural data were collected for both the apo and holo forms of ACP that suggest that the two forms of ACP are essentially identical. Comparison of the published structures for E. coli ACP and actinorhodin polyketide synthase acyl carrier protein ( act apo-ACP) from Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) with B. subtilis ACP indicates similar secondary structure elements but an extremely large rmsd between the three ACP structures (>4.3 Å). The structural difference between B. subtilis ACP and both E. coli and act apo-ACP is not attributed to an inherent difference in the proteins, but is probably a result of a limitation in the methodology available for the analysis for E. coli and act apo-ACP. Comparison of the structure of free ACP with the bound form of ACP in the ACP–ACPS complex reveals a displacement of helix II in the vicinity of Ser36. The induced perturbation of ACP by ACPS positions Ser36 proximal to coenzyme A and aligns the dipole of helix II to initiate transfer of 4′-PP to ACP.

Polyketide synthase acyl carrier protein (ACP) as a substrate and a catalyst for malonyl ACP biosynthesis

Using an acyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) as a starter unit, type II polyketide synthases (PKSs) generate a wide range of polyketide products by successive decarboxylative condensations with the two-carbon donor malonyl (ACP). In vitro experiments have demonstrated that polyketide biosynthesis in reconstituted PKS systems requires the fatty acid synthase (FAS) enzyme malonyl CoA:ACP acyltransferase (FabD) from streptomycetes. It has also been shown that holo-ACPs from a type II PKS can catalyze self-malonylation in the presence of malonyl CoA and negate this FabD requirement. The relative roles of FabD and ACP self-malonylation in PKS biosynthesis in vivo are still not known. We have examined the ACP specificity of the Streptomyces glaucescens FabD and shown that it reacts specifically with monomeric forms of ACP, with comparable k(cat)/K(M) values for ACPs from both type II PKS and FAS systems. Incubations of tetracenomycin ACP (TcmM) with the Escherichia coli FAS ACP (AcpP) unexpectedly revealed that, in addition to the self-malonylation process, TcmM can catalyze the malonylation of AcpP. The k(cat)/K(M) value for the TcmM-catalyzed malonylation of S. glaucescens FAS ACP is two orders of magnitude smaller than that observed for the FabD-catalyzed process. The ability of a PKS ACP to catalyze malonylation of a FAS ACP is a surprising finding and demonstrates for the first time that PKS ACPs and FabD can catalyze the same reaction. The differences in the catalytic efficiency of these two proteins rationalizes in vitro observations that FabD-independent polyketide biosynthesis proceeds only at high concentrations of a PKS ACP.

Acylation of Streptomyces type II polyketide synthase acyl carrier proteins

Acyl derivatives of type II PKS ACPs are required for in vitro studies of polyketide biosynthesis. The presence of an exposed cysteine residue prevented specific chemical acylation of the phosphopantetheine thiol of the actinorhodin PKS holo ACP. Acylation studies were further complicated by intramolecular disulphide formation between cysteine 17 and the phosphopantetheine. The presence of this intramolecular disulphide was confirmed by tryptic digestion of the ACP followed by ESMS analysis of the fragments. An act Cys17Ser ACP was engineered by site-directed mutagenesis. S-Acyl adducts of act C17S, oxytetracycline and griseusin holo ACPs were rapidly formed by reaction with hexanoyl, 5-ketohexanoyl and protected acetoacetyl imidazolides. Comparisons with type II FAS ACPs were made.