Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Eerappa Rajakumara, Dubey Saniya, Priyanka Bajaj, Rajanna Rajeshwari, Jyotsnendu Giri, Mehdi D. D. Davari
Summary: Cytochrome P450s are important enzymes for the oxidative transformation of organic substrates. Factors such as protein structure, substrate binding, and redox potential modulation play a crucial role in determining the catalytic properties and selectivity of P450s. Understanding these factors is increasingly important in the fields of synthetic biology and biotechnology.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
X. Xu, T. Hilberath, F. Hollmann
Summary: Heme-dependent oxygenases, such as P450 monooxygenases and peroxygenases, are selective catalysts for organic compound oxyfunctionalization. They exhibit mechanistic similarities and differences in CpdI formation, which may impact scalability, economic attractiveness, and environmental impact of their reactions. This contribution proposes performance indicators to compare the potential of both enzyme classes.
CURRENT OPINION IN GREEN AND SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xiaoyangzi Li, Ruyang Lao, Jiawei Lei, Yuting Chen, Qi Zhou, Ting Wang, Yingpeng Tong
Summary: The liver plays a crucial role in the body's metabolism, synthesis, and detoxification processes, but it is susceptible to damage from various factors. Drug-induced liver injury can be particularly problematic for patients, emphasizing the need for research on new treatment options.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
George Karageorgis, Daniel J. Foley, Luca Laraia, Susanne Brakmann, Herbert Waldmann
Summary: PNPs are compounds formed by combining NP fragments in unique ways, inheriting important biological characteristics of NPs while exhibiting unprecedented bioactivity. The importance of design principles, synthesis, and biological research on PNP scaffolds is emphasized. PNPs are considered as a human-driven branch of the evolution of natural product structure.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Editorial Material
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Fahmi Himo, Sam P. de Visser
Summary: The article discusses the use of the cluster approach in elucidating enzyme reaction mechanisms, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses, and advocates for its preference as the method of choice in investigating enzymatic reaction mechanisms.
COMMUNICATIONS CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yu Li, Shihao Cheng, Yun Tian, Yanan Zhang, Yu Zhao
Summary: Chemical diversification of natural products is an efficient approach for generating natural product-like compounds for modern drug discovery. Ring distortion reactions can alter the core ring structures of natural products, resulting in the production of structurally complex and diverse compounds suitable for various biological and medicinal applications. Despite the challenges and limitations, there are opportunities for future improvements in this rapidly expanding field.
NATURAL PRODUCT REPORTS
(2022)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Baodong Hu, Xinrui Zhao, Endao Wang, Jingwen Zhou, Jianghua Li, Jian Chen, Guocheng Du
Summary: Natural products are structurally diverse molecules with a wide range of biological activities. Cytochrome P450 enzymes are involved in the biosynthesis of many natural products and recent research has provided new insights for their application in the biosynthesis of natural products.
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
William Bort, Igor I. Baskin, Timur Gimadiev, Artem Mukanov, Ramil Nugmanov, Pavel Sidorov, Gilles Marcou, Dragos Horvath, Olga Klimchuk, Timur Madzhidov, Alexandre Varnek
Summary: Creative Artificial Intelligence has the ability to generate novel molecular structures and chemical reactions. By coupling reaction space cartography, it is possible to focus on desired reaction classes. Autoencoders can be trained to encode reactions and decode them in latent space for analysis and experimentation.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Markus Meuwly
Summary: Machine learning techniques have a long history in the field of chemical reactions, being able to address complex problems involving both computation and experiments. These techniques can develop models consistent with experimental knowledge, handle problems intractable to conventional approaches, and simulate reactive networks in combustion.
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Dongshan Wu, Xiaoguang Lei
Summary: Enzymatic cascade reactions are powerful technologies for synthesizing natural products and valuable molecules in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective manner. Single-Enzyme-Catalyzed Cascade reactions (SECC) significantly improve synthesis efficiency. This digest highlights recent inspiring examples of SECC in synthesizing natural products and natural product-like molecules, with a focus on their unique advantages.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xuefeng Yang, Xue Jin, Lili Zhou, Pengfei Duan, Yaxun Fan, Yilin Wang
Summary: By constructing chiral spherical micelles, hydrophilic and hydrophobic emitters can be endowed with CPL activity in the aqueous phase, while the cavities of the micelles can effectively modulate the excited state chirality of dynamic chemical reactions, enabling color-adjustable CPL emission.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Peter Ertl
Summary: There are significant differences between substituents present in natural products and those found in synthetic molecules. Natural products have more complex structures with oxygen heteroatoms and stereocenters, while synthetic molecules have nitrogen, sulfur heteroatoms and aromatic rings.
BIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shu Wu, Lujie Liu, Xuehong Zhang, Zhilong Wang
Summary: The study demonstrates a novel strategy for the direct production of rotiorin alkaloids by utilizing a cascade reaction involving the biocompatible reaction of rotiorin with primary amines and chemical conversion, preventing degradation of rotiorin. This provides a potential alternative source of natural colorants and opens up new possibilities for the exploitation of rotiorin alkaloids.
PROCESS BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Stephan Brinkmann, Michael Kurz, Maria A. Patras, Christoph Hartwig, Michael Marner, Benedikt Leis, Andre Billion, Yolanda Kleiner, Armin Bauer, Luigi Toti, Christoph Poeverlein, Peter E. Hammann, Andreas Vilcinskas, Jens Glaeser, Marius Spohn, Till F. Schaeberle
Summary: The availability of publicly accessible bacterial genomes has facilitated the use of bioinformatics tools for genome mining, allowing for the exploration of natural product biosynthesis capabilities. In this study, the genetic potential of the Bacteroidetes phylum was comprehensively analyzed, revealing the Chitinophaga genus as the most talented in terms of biosynthetic gene cluster abundance and diversity. Metabolomics and bioactivity-driven NP discovery on 25 Chitinophaga strains confirmed the predicted biosynthetic potential and uncovered a vast unexplored chemical space. This study isolated new antibiotics called chitinopeptins with activity against Candida, highlighting the importance of mining underinvestigated microbial taxa for future screening and isolation campaigns.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Matthieu Riva, Jianfeng Sun, V. Faye McNeill, Charline Ragon, Sebastien Perrier, Yinon Rudich, Sergey A. Nizkorodov, Jianmin Chen, Frederic Caupin, Thorsten Hoffmann, Christian George
Summary: The study investigated the impact of Laplace pressure on chemical processes in atmospheric ultrafine particles, finding that high pressure significantly slows down reaction product formation. These results suggest that high pressure is a key factor influencing the chemical processes governing atmospheric aerosol growth and evolution.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Hui Chen, Xiao Meng, Xiaoqing Xu, Wenbo Liu, Shengying Li
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Qinglian Li, Wenjuan Ding, Ziwei Yao, Jiajia Tu, Liyan Wang, Hongbo Huang, Shengying Li, Jianhua Ju
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Kai-Zhi Jia, Li-Wen Zhu, Xudong Qu, Shengying Li, Yuemao Shen, Qingsheng Qi, Youming Zhang, Yue-Zhong Li, Ya-Jie Tang
ACS SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Zhong Li, Shuai Li, Lei Du, Xingwang Zhang, Yuanyuan Jiang, Wenhua Liu, Wei Zhang, Shengying Li
Summary: The positive regulatory roles of orf1 and bafG in bafilomycin biosynthesis were characterized, with their overexpression significantly increasing bafilomycin production. The genetically engineered S. lohii strain produced bafilomycin A(1) solely with high titer, holding potential for large-scale production for new drug development.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cai You, Fengwei Li, Xingwang Zhang, Li Ma, Yu-Zhong Zhang, Wei Zhang, Shengying Li
Summary: Mycophenolic acid (MPA) is a fungal natural product and primary immunosuppressive drug used in organ transplantations and autoimmune diseases. The study of the MpaH' enzyme, which hydrolyzes MPA-CoA with high specificity in peroxisomes, reveals a new subfamily of alpha/beta hydrolase fold proteins with unique structural features.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yuanyuan Jiang, Wei Peng, Zhong Li, Cai You, Yue Zhao, Dandan Tang, Binju Wang, Shengying Li
Summary: This study analyzed the activities of three CYP152 peroxygenases towards fatty acids, revealing unique selectivity mechanisms and unexpected product formation. Insights into the Compound I-mediated aldehyde formation mechanism provide new understanding of the unusual mechanisms of CYP152 peroxygenases.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Wei Zhao, Ying Duan, Hong-Mei Li, Shengying Li, Yuemao Shen, Youming Zhang, Yue-zhong Li, Ya-Jie Tang
Summary: This study preliminarily disclosed the intrinsic regularity between different types of heterocycle-substituted DMEP derivative compounds and their antitumor activity mechanisms, including inducing severe DNA damage and promoting cell cycle arrest.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Shanmin Zheng, Jiawei Guo, Fangyuan Cheng, Zhengquan Gao, Lei Du, Chunxiao Meng, Shengying Li, Xingwang Zhang
Summary: This article comprehensively reviews the progress of P450 studies in algae from 2000 to 2021. It highlights the importance of algae as photosynthetic organisms and the role of P450 enzymes in natural product biosynthesis in algae. The article also emphasizes the advancing functional studies of algal P450 enzymes with the development of algae cultivation and genetic manipulation techniques, and the potential use of photoautotrophic algae as photo-bioreactors for high-value added pharmaceutical and chemical production.
ACTA PHARMACEUTICA SINICA B
(2022)
Article
Biology
Xiaohui Liu, Fengwei Li, Tianjian Sun, Jiawei Guo, Xingwang Zhang, Xianliang Zheng, Lei Du, Wei Zhang, Li Ma, Shengying Li
Summary: In this study, three pairs of surrogate redox partners were compared to find the most promising partner for efficient Class I cytochrome P450 catalytic system. The results provide insights into the domination for P450-redox partner interactions in modulating the catalytic activity of P450s. This study not only produces a more active biocatalyst but also suggests a general choice for a universal reductase which would facilitate engineering of P450 catalyst.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Shuai Li, Lu-Ping Chi, Zhong Li, Mingyu Liu, Ruxin Liu, Moli Sang, Xianliang Zheng, Lei Du, Wei Zhang, Shengying Li
Summary: This study successfully activated a transcriptionally silent polyketide biosynthetic gene cluster in Streptomyces using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology, leading to the discovery of two new polyketide metabolites. The findings revealed an unusual characteristic of the polyketide synthases during their biosynthesis.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Kun Liu, Ziping Xu, Zhiyi Zhao, Yuexing Chen, Yating Chai, Li Ma, Shengying Li
Summary: In this study, a dual fluorescence-based high-throughput screening assay for PETase variants was developed. Compared to the currently used structure- or computational redesign-based PETase engineering, this HTS approach provides a new strategy for discovery of new beneficial mutation patterns of PETases.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yuwei Xia, Guoliang Zhu, Xingwang Zhang, Shengying Li, Lei Du, Weiming Zhu
Summary: This study elucidated the biosynthetic pathway of AAIAs in Streptomyces sp. and identified the key genes and catalytic residues involved in the enzymatic FCA reaction, providing mechanistic insights into this important biosynthetic process.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xingwang Zhang, Jiawei Guo, Fangyuan Cheng, Shengying Li
Summary: Fungal-derived polyketides, non-ribosomal peptides, terpenoids and their hybrids significantly contribute to the chemical space of total natural products from 2015 to end of 2020. Cytochrome P450 enzymes play essential roles in fungal natural product biosynthesis with broad substrate scope and high catalytic versatility. Recent technical advances, such as efficient genome editing techniques and development of filamentous fungal strains as P450 expression hosts, have led to remarkable achievements in fungal P450 studies.
NATURAL PRODUCT REPORTS
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Wei Zhao, Ying Cong, Hong-Mei Li, Shengying Li, Yuemao Shen, Qingsheng Qi, Youming Zhang, Yue-Zhong Li, Ya-Jie Tang
Summary: Podophyllotoxin is a bioactive component with various pharmacological activities including antitumor and antiviral effects. Derivatives of podophyllotoxin have shown promise in cancer therapy but face limitations such as systemic toxicity and low bioavailability.
NATURAL PRODUCT REPORTS
(2021)