Publications

• Labelled acetone and levulinic acid are formed when [14C]acetate is being converted to mycophenolic acid in Penicillium brevicompactum.

  Nulton C.P., Campbell I.M.

  Evidence is presented that is compatible with the hypothesis that the farnesyl unit involved in the biosynthesis of mycophenolic acid in Penicillium brevicompactum is degraded by two successive oxidative cleavages at the double bonds distal from the phthalide nucleus. Acetone and levulinic acid ar ... >> More

  Evidence is presented that is compatible with the hypothesis that the farnesyl unit involved in the biosynthesis of mycophenolic acid in Penicillium brevicompactum is degraded by two successive oxidative cleavages at the double bonds distal from the phthalide nucleus. Acetone and levulinic acid are two non-aromatic degradation products. << Less

  Can J Microbiol 24:199-201(1978) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Compartmentalized biosynthesis of mycophenolic acid.

  Zhang W., Du L., Qu Z., Zhang X., Li F., Li Z., Qi F., Wang X., Jiang Y., Men P., Sun J., Cao S., Geng C., Qi F., Wan X., Liu C., Li S.

  Mycophenolic acid (MPA) from filamentous fungi is the first natural product antibiotic to be isolated and crystallized, and a first-line immunosuppressive drug for organ transplantations and autoimmune diseases. However, some key biosynthetic mechanisms of such an old and important molecule have r ... >> More

  Mycophenolic acid (MPA) from filamentous fungi is the first natural product antibiotic to be isolated and crystallized, and a first-line immunosuppressive drug for organ transplantations and autoimmune diseases. However, some key biosynthetic mechanisms of such an old and important molecule have remained unclear. Here, we elucidate the MPA biosynthetic pathway that features both compartmentalized enzymatic steps and unique cooperation between biosynthetic and β-oxidation catabolism machineries based on targeted gene inactivation, feeding experiments in heterologous expression hosts, enzyme functional characterization and kinetic analysis, and microscopic observation of protein subcellular localization. Besides identification of the oxygenase MpaB' as the long-sought key enzyme responsible for the oxidative cleavage of the farnesyl side chain, we reveal the intriguing pattern of compartmentalization for the MPA biosynthetic enzymes, including the cytosolic polyketide synthase MpaC' and <i>O</i>-methyltransferase MpaG', the Golgi apparatus-associated prenyltransferase MpaA', the endoplasmic reticulum-bound oxygenase MpaB' and P450-hydrolase fusion enzyme MpaDE', and the peroxisomal acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) hydrolase MpaH'. The whole pathway is elegantly comediated by these compartmentalized enzymes, together with the peroxisomal β-oxidation machinery. Beyond characterizing the remaining outstanding steps of the MPA biosynthetic steps, our study highlights the importance of considering subcellular contexts and the broader cellular metabolism in natural product biosynthesis. << Less

  Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 116:13305-13310(2019) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

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