Cobalamin-dependent radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine protein functions with a partner to successively methylate tricyclic indole alkaloid for chuangxinmycin maturation and derivatization

Cobalamin (Cbl)-dependent radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) proteins constitute the largest collection of the radical SAM superfamily that has hundreds of thousands of individual members. Many of these proteins are involved in the biosynthesis of pharmaceutically important natural products to catalyze chemically demanding reactions. In the biosynthetic pathway of chuangxinmycin (CXM), a unique indole alkaloid antibiotic with potent anti-infective activity, functionalization of the characteristic thiopyrano[4,3,2-cd]indole scaffold by regio- and stereoselective C3-methylation is believed to rely on a Cbl-dependent radical process, which, however, remained to be reconstituted biochemically. We here report the dissection of this enzymatic process, which requires the incorporation of Cxm8, a Cbl-dependent radical SAM protein, with Cxm9, a DUF5825 family protein that shares no homology to any proteins of known functions. Cxm8 and Cxm9 function together by forming an unexpected heterodimeric complex that selectively catalyzes C3-methylation of the tricyclic indole-S-hetero ring system in a successive manner, achieving CXM and a recently identified, C3-dimethylated congener. Detailed biochemical characterization, isotope labeling, structural simulation and bioinformatics analysis rationalized the catalysis of the Cxm8/Cxm9 complex and particularly the necessity of the DUF5825 protein for C3-methylase activity. This is the first example that a Cbl-dependent protein acts with a partner to exhibit radical SAM activity.