Synlett 2019; 30(19): 2123-2130
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1690711
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© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Reprogramming Nonribosomal Peptide Synthesis by Surgical Mutation

,
Douglas A. Hansen
,
Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland   Email: hilvert@org.chem.ethz.com   Email: niquille@mit.edu   Email: dougland@umich.edu
› Author Affiliations
This work was generously funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the ETH Zurich. D.A.H. is grateful for an ETH Zurich Postdoctoral Fellowship that was co-funded by the Marie Curie Actions program.
Further Information

Publication History

Received: 20 August 2019

Accepted after revision: 25 September 2019

Publication Date:
28 October 2019 (online)


Abstract

Nonribosomal peptide synthetases produce highly modified bioactive peptides, many of which are used therapeutically. As such, they have been the target of intense protein engineering to enable biosynthetic access to peptide variants with improved drug properties or altered bioactivities. In this account, we describe our ongoing efforts to reprogram nonribosomal peptide synthesis by surgical mutation. In contrast to ribosomal biosynthesis, nonribosomal peptide synthesis has proven difficult to engineer, arguably due to a lack of suitable tools. To address this limitation, we have established a high-throughput assay that provides unprecedented control over the gatekeeper adenylation domains responsible for building block selection and incorporation. Expansion of this strategy to other building blocks and domains promises to make it a powerful evolutionary platform for tailoring assembly lines for custom synthesis of peptide therapeutics.

1. Nonribosomal Peptides

2. Reprogramming A Domains for Clickable Amino Acids

3 A High-Throughput A Domain Assay

4 Reprogramming A Domains for β-Amino Acids

5 Downstream Processing

6 Conclusions and Outlook