- Skiba, Meredith A;
- Bivins, Marissa M;
- Schultz, John R;
- Bernard, Steffen M;
- Fiers, William D;
- Dan, Qingyun;
- Kulkarni, Sarang;
- Wipf, Peter;
- Gerwick, William H;
- Sherman, David H;
- Aldrich, Courtney C;
- Smith, Janet L
Modular type I polyketide synthases (PKSs) produce some of the most chemically complex metabolites in nature through a series of multienzyme modules. Each module contains a variety of catalytic domains to selectively tailor the growing molecule. PKS O-methyltransferases ( O-MTs) are predicted to methylate β-hydroxyl or β-keto groups, but their activity and structure have not been reported. We determined the domain boundaries and characterized the catalytic activity and structure of the StiD and StiE O-MTs, which methylate opposite β-hydroxyl stereocenters in the myxobacterial stigmatellin biosynthetic pathway. Substrate stereospecificity was demonstrated for the StiD O-MT. Key catalytic residues were identified in the crystal structures and investigated in StiE O-MT via site-directed mutagenesis and further validated with the cyanobacterial CurL O-MT from the curacin biosynthetic pathway. Initial structural and biochemical analysis of PKS O-MTs supplies a new chemoenzymatic tool, with the unique ability to selectively modify hydroxyl groups during polyketide biosynthesis.