Stereoselective synthesis of lanthionine derivatives in aqueous solution and their incorporation into the peptidoglycan of Escherichia coli

The three diastereoisomers—(R,R), (S,S) and meso—of lanthionine were synthesized in aqueous solution with high diastereoselectivity (>99%). The (S) and (R) enantiomers of two differently protected sulfamidates were opened by nucleophilic attack of (R) or (S)-cysteine. Acidification and controlled heating liberated the free lanthionines. Using the same chemistry, an α-benzyl lanthionine was also prepared. The proposed method, which avoids the need of enrichment by recrystallization, opens the way to the labelling of these compounds with 35S. Furthermore, in vivo bioincorporation into Escherichia coli W7 was studied. No incorporation of α-benzyl lanthionine was observed. In contrast, meso-lanthionine can effectively replace meso-diaminopimelic acid in vivo, while in the presence of (R,R)-lanthionine the initial increase of bacterial growth was followed by cell lysis. In the future, meso-[35S]lanthionine could be used to study the biosynthesis of peptidoglycan and its turnover in relation to cell growth and division.

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