Oudemansin and 9-methoxystrobilurin derivatives with antimalarial activity from cultures of the basidiomycete : assignments of the absolute configurations of the isoprene-derived units.

Five undescribed polyketide metabolites, oudemansins E (1), M (2), P (3), and Q (4), and 9-methoxystrobilurin I (5), were isolated from cultures of basidiomycete TBRC-BCC 19434. A γ-lactone derivative (6) of noroudemansin A (8), which was previously reported as a semisynthetic compound, was also isolated. The absolute configuration of the isoprene-derived moiety of the known cometabolite 9-methoxystrobilurin E (9) was determined to be 2',6' by comparison of the experimental and calculated ECD data, which was correlated to the new derivative 1.

Enhancement of thioredoxin/glutaredoxin-mediated L-cysteine synthesis from S-sulfocysteine increases L-cysteine production in Escherichia coli.

Background: Escherichia coli has two L-cysteine biosynthetic pathways; one is synthesized from O-acetyl L-serine (OAS) and sulfate by L-cysteine synthase (CysK), and another is produced via S-sulfocysteine (SSC) from OAS and thiosulfate by SSC synthase (CysM). SSC is converted into L-cysteine and sulfite by an uncharacterized reaction. As thioredoxins (Trx1 and Trx2) and glutaredoxins (Grx1, Grx2, Grx3, Grx4, and NrdH) are known as reductases of peptidyl disulfides, overexpression of such reductases might be a good way for improving L-cysteine production to accelerate the reduction of SSC in E.

The L-cysteine/L-cystine shuttle system provides reducing equivalents to the periplasm in Escherichia coli.

Intracellular thiols like L-cysteine and glutathione play a critical role in the regulation of cellular processes. Escherichia coli has multiple L-cysteine transporters, which export L-cysteine from the cytoplasm into the periplasm. However, the role of L-cysteine in the periplasm remains unknown.

The outer membrane TolC is involved in cysteine tolerance and overproduction in Escherichia coli.

L-cysteine is an important amino acid in terms of its industrial applications. We previously found marked production of L-cysteine directly from glucose in recombinant Escherichia coli cells by the combination of enhancing biosynthetic activity and weakening the degradation pathway. Further improvements in L-cysteine production are expected to use the amino acid efflux system.