Conversion of cyclic nonaketides to lovastatin and compactin by a lovC deficient mutant of Aspergillus terreus

Investigation of the post-PKS biosynthetic steps to the cholesterol-lowering agent lovastatin (1) using an Aspergillus terreus strain with a disrupted lovC gene, which is essential for formation of 4a,5-dihydromonacolin L (3), shows that 7 and 3 are precursors to 1, and demonstrates that lovastatin diketide synthase (lovF protein) does not require lovC. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.