Biosynthesis of a Novel Diketopiperazine Aspkyncin Incorporating a Kynurenine Unit from <i>Aspergillus aculeatus</i>.

ABSTRACT: The simplest cyclo-peptides, also known as diketopiperazines (DKPs), are widespread in nature. The growing interest in these simplest cyclo-peptides is driven by their significant potential for therapeutic applications. In this study, we identified a biosynthetic gene cluster from Aspergillus aculeatus CRI323-04 through genome mining and heterologous expression in Aspergillus nidulans. The two core genes, aacA and aacB, within the gene cluster were characterized for their role in the biossoynthesis of aspkyncin, a novel DKP compound that incorporates a l-kynurenine (l-Kyn) unit. Furthermore, we successfully reconstituted the activities of the minimal bimodular non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) AacA and the methyltransferase AacB both in vivo and in vitro.

SUBMITTER: Kong D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11942691 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature