Bacterial enoyl-acyl carrier protein

The last step in the fatty acid biosynthetic pathway is catalyzed by enoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) reductase, which is responsible for reduction of the double bond in the enoyl-ACP derivative (Heath and Rock, 1995 Payne et al., 2002). While fabl genes encode enoyl-ACP reductases (FabI enzymes) in S. aureus and E. coli, an alternative enoyl-ACP reductase, FabK, replaces the function of Fabl in a number of bacterial species such as Streptococcus pneumoniae (Heath and Rock, 2000). More interestingly, a number of bacterial species (such as Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) possess both the Fabl and FabK enzymes (Heath and Rock, 2000). To discover Fabl-specific antibacterial inhibitors, Payne and colleagues at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) developed assays for various versions of enoyl-ACP reductases (Payne et al., 2002 Seefeld et al., 2003) based on the following reaction scheme ... 

Since the PKS (polyketide synthase) gene cluster for actinorhodin (act), an antibiotic produced by Streptomyces coelicolor[ 109], was cloned, more than 20 different gene clusters encoding polyketide biosynthetic enzymes have been isolated from various organisms, mostly actinomycetes, and characterized [98, 100]. Bacterial PKSs are classified into two broad types based on gene organization and biosynthetic mechanisms [98, 100, 102]. In modular PKSs (or type I), discrete multifunctional enzymes control the sequential addition of thioester units and their subsequent modification to produce macrocyclic compounds (or complex polyketides). Type I PKSs are exemplified by 6-deoxyerythronolide B synthase (DEBS), which catalyzes the formation of the macrolactone portion of erythromycin A, an antibiotic produced by Saccharopolyspora erythraea. There are 7 different active-site domains in DEBS, but a given module contains only 3 to 6 active sites. Three domains, acyl carrier protein (ACP), acyltransferase (AT), and P-ketoacyl-ACP synthase (KS), constitute a minimum module. Some modules contain additional domains for reduction of p-carbons, e.g., P-ketoacyl-ACP reductase (KR), dehydratase (DH), and enoyl reductase (ER). The thioesterase-cyclase (TE) protein is present only at the end of module 6. 

Figure 11.2 A comparative picture of the fatty acid synthetase (FAS) systems in yeast, animal, bacterial and plant cells. fi-KS, -ketoacyl AGP synthetase P-KR, A-ketoacyl AGP reductase DH, -OH acyl-AGP dehydrase ER, enoyl AGP reductase AT, acetyl transacylase MT, malonyl transacylase TE, thioesterase AGP, acyl carrier protein. See Shimakata and Stumpf (19S2a,b) and Wakil etal, (1983) for details.

Type II fatty add synthase. 6-7 discrete enzymes and an acyl carrier protein, assodated noncovalently. In plants the enzymes are only in the plastids, and fatty add synthesis does not occur in the cytoplasm. Similarity of plant and bacterial type II systems supports endosymbiont theory of origin of chloro-plasts. Enoyl reductase uses FMN. Primary product is palmitate. 

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