tRNA-dependent peptide bond formation by the transferase PacB in biosynthesis of the pacidamycin group of pentapeptidyl nucleoside antibiotics

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Jul 26;108(30):12249-53. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1109539108. Epub 2011 Jul 11.

Abstract

Pacidamycins are a family of uridyl tetra/pentapeptide antibiotics with antipseudomonal activities through inhibition of the translocase MraY in bacterial cell wall assembly. The biosynthetic gene cluster for pacidamycins has recently been identified through genome mining of the producer Streptomyces coeruleorubidus, and the highly dissociated nonribosomal peptide assembly line for the uridyl tetrapeptide scaffold of pacidamycin has been characterized. In this work a hypothetical protein PacB, conserved in known uridyl peptide antibiotics gene clusters, has been characterized by both genetic deletion and enzymatic analysis of the purified protein. PacB catalyzes the transfer of the alanyl residue from alanyl-tRNA to the N terminus of the tetrapeptide intermediate yielding a pentapeptide on the thio-templated nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) assembly line protein PacH. PacB thus represents a new group of tRNA-dependent peptide bond-forming enzymes in secondary metabolite biosynthesis in addition to the recently identified cyclodipeptide synthases. The characterization of PacB completes the assembly line reconstitution of pacidamycin pentapeptide antibiotic scaffolds, bridging the primary and secondary metabolic pathways by hijacking an aminoacyl-tRNA to the antibiotic biosynthetic pathway.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Aminoacyltransferases / chemistry
  • Aminoacyltransferases / genetics
  • Aminoacyltransferases / metabolism
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / biosynthesis*
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / chemistry*
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism
  • Base Sequence
  • Computational Biology
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • Genes, Bacterial
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Multigene Family
  • Peptide Biosynthesis*
  • Peptides / chemistry*
  • Peptidyl Transferases / chemistry
  • Peptidyl Transferases / genetics
  • Peptidyl Transferases / metabolism*
  • Pyrimidine Nucleosides / biosynthesis
  • Pyrimidine Nucleosides / chemistry
  • RNA, Transfer, Amino Acyl / metabolism
  • Recombinant Proteins / chemistry
  • Recombinant Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Streptomyces / genetics
  • Streptomyces / metabolism
  • Substrate Specificity

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • DNA, Bacterial
  • Peptides
  • Pyrimidine Nucleosides
  • RNA, Transfer, Amino Acyl
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Aminoacyltransferases
  • Peptidyl Transferases