Synthesis and incorporation of an N-acetylcysteamine analogue of methylmalonyl-CoA by a modular polyketide synthase

Polyketides, which have a broad range of uses in human therapy, animal health and agriculture, have been known to be synthesized by using expensive coenzyme A thioesters used for chain extension. Large scale production of polyketides is therefore not economically feasible with the present method. A new truncated MeMalCoA derivative was synthesized in just one step and subsequently efficiently used as a substrate analogue by a module of the deoxyerythronolide-B synthase protein complex to produce a polyketide.