Producing individual enantiomeric cyclic skeletons of natural products

August 19, 2021

Reaction mechanism of two enzymes were identified

A joint research group of Tottori University, Setsunan University, RIKEN CSRS, RIKEN Center for Computational Science, and the University of Tokyo has identified the mechanism by which two enzymes that catalyze the Diels-Alder reactions produce individual enantiomers in the process of synthesizing natural products. By effectively combining experiments and theoretical calculations, the study dramatically advanced the understanding of the relationship between the shape of enzymes that catalyze the Diels-Alder reactions and their functions. The results are expected to provide guidelines on the rational design of enzymes for the production of natural product derivatives.

Original article

Angewandte Chemie International Edition doi:10.1002/anie.202106186

K. Fujiyama, N. Kato, S. Re, K. Kinugasa, K. Watanabe, R. Takita, T. Nogawa, T. Hino, H. Osada, Y. Sugita, S. Takahashi, S. Nagano,

"Molecular Basis for Two Stereoselective Diels-Alderases that Produce Decalin Skeletons".

Contact

Shunji Takahashi

Unit Leader

Natural Product Biosynthesis Research Unit