- Li, Zhong-Rui;
- Li, Jie;
- Gu, Jin-Ping;
- Lai, Jennifer YH;
- Duggan, Brendan M;
- Zhang, Wei-Peng;
- Li, Zhi-Long;
- Li, Yong-Xin;
- Tong, Rong-Biao;
- Xu, Ying;
- Lin, Dong-Hai;
- Moore, Bradley S;
- Qian, Pei-Yuan
Colibactin is an as-yet-uncharacterized genotoxic secondary metabolite produced by human gut bacteria. Here we report the biosynthetic discovery of two new precolibactin molecules from Escherichia coli, including precolibactin-886, which uniquely incorporates the highly sought genotoxicity-associated aminomalonate building block into its unprecedented macrocyclic structure. This work provides new insights into the biosynthetic logic and mode of action of this colorectal-cancer-linked microbial chemical.