Total Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Paenilamicins from the Honey Bee Pathogen Paenibacillus larvae

Paenilamicins are a group of complex polycationic peptide secondary metabolites with antibacterial and antifungal activities produced by the devastating honey bee brood pathogen Paenibacillus larvae causing the lethal brood disease American Foulbrood (AFB). Here, we report the convergent total synthesis and structural revision of paenilamicin B2. Specific stereoisomers of paenilamicin B2 were synthesized for unambiguous confirmation of the natural product structure and for evaluation of biological activities. These studies revealed the N-terminal fragment of paenilamicin as an important pharmacophore. Infection assays using bee larvae and the insect pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis demonstrated that paenilamicins outcompete bacterial competitors in the ecological niche of P. larvae. Finally, we show first data that classifies paenilamicins as potential ribosome inhibitors. Hence, our synthesis route is a further step for understanding the pathogenicity of P. larvae and for thorough structure-activity-relationship as well as mode-of-action studies in the near future.