title: The linear pentadecapeptide gramicidin is assembled by four multimodular nonribosomal peptide synthetases that comprise 16 modules with 56 catalytic domains.
abstract: Linear gramicidin is a membrane channel forming pentadecapeptide that is produced via the nonribosomal pathway. It consists of 15 hydrophobic amino acids with alternating l- and d-configuration forming a beta-helix-like structure. It has an N-formylated valine and a C-terminal ethanolamine. Here we report cloning and sequencing of the entire biosynthetic gene cluster as well as initial biochemical analysis of a new reductase domain. The biosynthetic gene cluster was identified on two nonoverlapping fosmids and a 13-kilobase pair (kbp) interbridge fragment covering a region of 74 kbp. Four very large open reading frames, lgrA, lgrB, lgrC, and lgrD with 6.8, 15.5, 23.3, and 15.3 kbp, were identified and shown to encode nonribosomal peptide synthetases with two, four, six, and four modules, respectively. Within the 16 modules identified, seven epimerization domains in alternating positions were detected as well as a putative formylation domain fused to the first module LgrA and a putative reductase domain attached to the C-terminal module of LgrD. Analysis of the substrate specificity by phylogenetic studies using the residues of the substrate-binding pockets of all 16 adenylation domains revealed a good agreement of the substrate amino acids predicted with the sequence of linear gramicidin. Additional biochemical analysis of the three adenylation domains of modules 1, 2, and 3 confirmed the colinearity of this nonribosomal peptide synthetase assembly line. Module 16 was predicted to activate glycine, which would then, being the C-terminal residue of the peptide chain, be reduced by the adjacent reductase domain to give ethanolamine, thereby releasing the final product N-formyl-pentadecapeptide-ethanolamine. However, initial biochemical analysis of this reductase showed only a one-step reduction yielding the corresponding aldehyde in vitro.
authors.affiliation: FB Chemie, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Strasse, 35032 Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kessler
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schuhmann
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morneweg
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Linne
authors.forename: Mohamed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Marahiel
mesh_terms: D000225:Adenine / Q000378:metabolism; D000447:Aldehydes / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D001407:Bacillus / Q000201:enzymology; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000201:enzymology; D020134:Catalytic Domain; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D019856:Ethanolamine / Q000378:metabolism; D005561:Formates / Q000378:metabolism; D005998:Glycine / Q000378:metabolism; D006096:Gramicidin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000737:chemistry; D010453:Peptide Synthases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D000447:Aldehydes; D000596:Amino Acids; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005561:Formates; C030544:formic acid; D006096:Gramicidin; D019856:Ethanolamine; D010088:Oxidoreductases; D010453:Peptide Synthases; C104385:non-ribosomal peptide synthase; D000225:Adenine; D005998:Glycine