Combinatorial Biosynthesis of Sulfated Benzenediol Lactones with a Phenolic Sulfotransferase from Fusarium Graminearum PH-1
December 2020
in “
mSphere
”
TLDR A fungal enzyme was used to make compounds more soluble, aiding drug discovery and crop protection.
This study identified a phenolic sulfotransferase, FgSULT1, from the fungus Fusarium graminearum PH-1, which was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to modify benzenediol lactones and other compounds, resulting in increased solubility of the products. FgSULT1, despite low similarity to known sulfotransferases, shared structural features with animal and plant enzymes and formed a distinct clade with bacterial sulfotransferases. This research expanded the sulfotransferase superfamily to fungi and demonstrated a platform for producing unnatural natural product sulfoconjugates, which could be useful in drug discovery, crop protection, and environmental monitoring.
