Cytochrome P450-catalyzed allylic oxidation of pentalenene to 1-deoxypentalenic acid in pentalenolactone biosynthesis

Abstract

Pentalenolactone is a sesquiterpene antibiotic from Streptomyces. Its biosynthetic pathway has been elucidated, except for the oxidation of pentalen-13-al to 1-deoxypentalenic acid. In this study, we show that cytochrome P450 pentalenene oxygenase catalyzed the formation of 1-deoxypentalenic acid. Ferredoxin XNR_5179 and ferredoxin reductase XNR_4478 from S. albus are suitable redox proteins for pentalenene oxygenase. The biosynthetic pathway presented fills a gap in the biosynthetic pathway of pentalenolactone and provides an example of cytochrome P450 enzyme activity being affected by redox proteins.