小柯机器人

美国普林斯顿大学Mohammad R. Seyedsayamdost课题组揭示不同微生物中含硒小分子的生物合成。相关论文于2022年9月7日在线发表于国际学术期刊《自然》。

研究人员利用各种微生物的基因组挖掘策略，发现了一个广泛的三基因簇，它编码了一条生产selenoneine的专用途径，即多功能分子麦角硫因的硒类似物。研究人员阐明了所有三个蛋白质的反应，并发现了两个新的硒碳键形成酶和生产硒糖的生物合成途径，这是通往最终产物的一个意想不到的中间环节。这些发现扩大了生物硒利用的范围，表明硒代谢组比以前认为的更加多样化，并为发现其他含硒天然产品奠定了基础。

据介绍，硒是多种生物体内的一种基本微量元素。已知它有两条路线，分别通过硒半胱氨酸和2-硒尿苷插入到蛋白质和核酸中。然而，尽管它很重要，但硒整合入小分子的具体途径仍然难以捉摸。

附：英文原文

Title: Biosynthesis of selenium-containing small molecules in diverse microorganisms

Author: Kayrouz, Chase M., Huang, Jonathan, Hauser, Nicole, Seyedsayamdost, Mohammad R.

Issue&Volume: 2022-09-07

Abstract: Selenium is an essential micronutrient in diverse organisms. Two routes are known for its insertion into proteins and nucleic acids, via selenocysteine and 2-selenouridine, respectively1. However, despite its importance, pathways for specific incorporation of selenium into small molecules have remained elusive. Here we use a genome-mining strategy in various microorganisms to uncover a widespread three-gene cluster that encodes a dedicated pathway for producing selenoneine, the selenium analogue of the multifunctional molecule ergothioneine2,3. We elucidate the reactions of all three proteins and uncover two novel selenium–carbon bond-forming enzymes and the biosynthetic pathway for production of a selenosugar, which is an unexpected intermediate en route to the final product. Our findings expand the scope of biological selenium utilization, suggest that the selenometabolome is more diverse than previously thought, and set the stage for the discovery of other selenium-containing natural products.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05174-2

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05174-2

Nature：《自然》，创刊于1869年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团，最新IF：69.504
官方网址：http://www.nature.com/
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