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We report the metabolomics-driven genome mining of a new cyclic-guanidino incorporating non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) gene cluster and full structure elucidation of its associated hexapeptide product, faulknamycin. Structural studies unveiled that this natural product contained the previously unknown (R,S)-stereoisomer of capreomycidine, d-capreomycidine. Furthermore, heterologous expression of the identified gene cluster successfully reproduces faulknamycin production without an observed homologue of VioD, the pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme found in all previous l-capreomycidine biosynthesis. An alternative NRPS-dependent pathway for d-capreomycidine biosynthesis is proposed.

International audience; Short antimicrobial peptides represent attractive compounds for the development of new antibiotic agents. Previously, we identified an ultrashort hydrophobic and phenylalanine-rich peptide, called temporin-SHf, representing the smallest natural amphibian antimicrobial peptide known to date. Here, we report on the first structure activity relationship study of this peptide. A series of temporin-SHf derivatives containing insertion of a basic arginine residue as well as residues containing neutral hydrophilic (serine and alpha-hydroxymethylserine) and hydrophobic (alpha-methyl phenylalanine and p-(t)butyl phenylalanine) groups were designed to improve the antimicrobial activity, and their alpha-helical structure was investigated by circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Three compounds were found to display higher antimicrobial activity with the ability to disrupt (permeabilization/depolarization) the bacterial membrane while retaining the nontoxic character of the parent peptide toward rat erythrocytes and human cells (THP-1 derived macrophages and HEK-293). Antimicrobial assays were carried out to explore the influence of serum and physiological salt concentration on peptide activity. Analogs containing D-amino acid residues were also tested. Our study revealed that [p-(BuF2)-Bu-t, R-5]SHf is an attractive ultrashort candidate that is highly potent (bactericidal) against Gram-positive bacteria (including multidrug resistant S. aureus) and against a wider range of clinically interesting Gram-negative bacteria than temporin-SHf, and also active at physiological salt concentrations and in 30% serum.

A concise, nine-step enantioselective total synthesis of metacycloprodigiosin is reported. The synthesis provides increased step-efficiency over the previous racemic and enantioselective syntheses of this compound. Key features of the work include investigations into a convergent oxidative coupling reaction and subsequent ring-closing metathesis to deliver an advanced pyrrole intermediate we name the ‘Wasserman pyrrole’ that can be converted to metacycloprodigiosin in one step.