Biosynthesis of a bacterial meroterpenoid reveals a non-canonical class II meroterpenoid cyclase.

Meroterpenoids are hybrid natural products that arise from the integration of terpenoid and non-terpenoid biosynthetic pathways. While the biosynthesis of fungal meroterpenoids typically follows a well-established sequence of prenylation, epoxidation, and cyclization, the pathways for bacterial perhydrophenanthrene meroterpenoids remain poorly understood. In this study, we report the construction of an engineered metabolic pathway in for the production of the bacterial meroterpenoid, atolypene A (1).