title: Biosynthesis of the antimetabolite 6-thioguanine in Erwinia amylovora plays a key role in fire blight pathogenesis.
abstract: Sulfur for fire: The molecular basis for the biosynthesis of the antimetabolite 6-thioguanine (6TG) was unveiled in Erwinia amylovora, the causative agent of fire blight. Bioinformatics, heterologous pathway reconstitution in E. coli, and mutational analyses indicate that the protein YcfA mediates guanine thionation in analogy to 2-thiouridylase. Assays in planta and in cell cultures reveal for the first time a crucial role of 6TG in fire blight pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biomolecular Chemistry, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, HKI, Beutenbergstrasse 11a, 07745 Jena (Germany) http://www.hki-jena.de.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Coyne
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chizzali
authors.forename: Mohammed N A
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Khalil
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Litomska
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: Ludger
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Beerhues
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hertweck
mesh_terms: D044084:Erwinia amylovora / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013866:Thioguanine / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D013866:Thioguanine
keywords: Erwinia amylovora; antimetabolites; natural products; phytochemistry; sulfur compounds