Biosynthesis of fluopsin C, a copper-containing antibiotic from <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>
Jon B. Patteson, Andrew T. Putz, Lizhi Tao, William C. Simke, L. Henry Bryant, R. David Britt, Бо Ли
Abstract
A copper-containing antibiotic Bacteria require transition metal ions for biological processes and must also protect themselves against excess metal, which is toxic. Patteson et al . explored how the environmental bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa uses a five-enzyme pathway to synthesize a small-molecule complex, fluopsin C, which is built from cysteine and contains a copper ion. The biosynthesis involves unusual enzymatic transformations that convert cysteine to a thiohydroximate, two of which chelate a copper ion in the final natural product. Fluopsin C protects P. aeruginosa from excess copper and also acts as a broad-spectrum antibiotic against other bacteria. —VV