Tearing down to build up: Metalloenzymes in the biosynthesis lincomycin, hormaomycin and the pyrrolo [1,4]benzodiazepines

The metabolic pathways for the production of lincomycin, hormaomycin and the antitumor pyrrolo [1,4] benzodiazepines share a vinyl substituted pyrroline carboxylic acid (3-vinyl-2,3-pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid, VPCA) as a common intermediate. Biosynthesis of this vinyl substituted pyrroline carboxylic acid intermediate requires a short, three-enzyme pathway containing two metalloenzymes: a heme-dependent l-tyrosine hydroxylase and a non-heme Fe2 + dependent l-DOPA dioxygenase. The l-tyrosine hydroxylase is an unprecedented type of peroxidase that specifically monohydroxylates tyrosine, while the l-DOPA extradiol cleaving enzyme is a single-domain vicinal-oxygen-chelate (VOC) dioxygenase. The dioxygenase product subsequently undergoes an, as yet uncharacterized, C–C bond cleavage reaction. This mini-pathway demonstrates the use of metal-dependent chemistry typically associated with natural product degradation in order to build a compact, functionalized building block for larger, bioactive molecules.