In Vitro Reconstitution of the Remaining Steps in Ovothiol A Biosynthesis: C-S Lyase and Methyltransferase Reactions

Ovothiols are thiolhistidine derivatives. The first step of ovothiol biosynthesis is OvoA-catalyzed oxidative coupling between histidine and cysteine. In this report, the remaining steps of ovothiol A biosynthesis were reconstituted in vitro. ETA_14770 (OvoB) was reported as a PLP-dependent sulfoxide lyase, responsible for mercaptohistidine production. OvoA was found to be a bifunctional enzyme, which mediates both oxidative C-S bond formation and methylation of mercaptohistidine to afford ovothiol A. Besides reconstituting the whole biosynthetic pathway, two unique features proposed in the literature were also examined: a potential cysteine-recycling mechanism of the C-S lyase (OvoB) and the selectivity of the pi-N methyltransferase.