Ungewöhnliche Flavoenzyme steuern die Bildung von Troponen in Bakterien

Bacterial tropone natural products play important roles in symbiotic interactions, e. g., as protective antibiotics or toxins. Remarkably, their biosynthesis relies on an interweaving of primary and secondary metabolism. Accordingly, the sequestration of a shunt product from aromatic catabolism by a non-canonical flavoenzyme leads to an advanced biosynthetic intermediate. The enzyme hereby operates as a novel dioxygenase that activates O2 for CoA thioester bond cleavage and ring epoxidation.