Characterization of the phenylglycine aminotransferase PglE from Streptomyces pristinaespiralis

L-phenylglycine is a rare non-proteinogenic amino acid, which only occurs in a few natural compounds, such as the streptogramin antibiotics pristinamycin I and virginiamycin S or the bicyclic peptide antibiotic dityromycin. Here we report on the biochemical characterization of the aminotransferase PglE that catalyzes the transamination from phenylglyoxylate to L-phenylglycine, which represents the final reaction step during phenylglycine biosynthesis. Enzyme assays with the purified PglE enzyme revealed that L-phenylalanine is used as an amino group donor for the transamination reaction, leading to the formation of phenylpyruvate, which may re-enter phenylglycine biosynthesis as a precursor. Based on these results, we postulate a novel L-phenylglycine biosynthetic pathway.