Researchers in the Princeton University Department of Chemistry have discovered a new multi-step pathway through which bacteria found in the mammalian gut produce antimicrobial peptides.
The newly identified biosynthetic pathway transforms a biologically inert peptide into structurally complex antibiotics, which they call enteropeptins. Enteropeptins are a class of ribosomally synthesized peptide natural products, referred to as RiPPs.
The core structure of these products is synthesized by the ribosome, which is limited to the 20 canonical amino acids. The Mo Lab discovered and characterized new metalloenzymes capable of converting arginine, a canonical amino acid, into N-methylornithine, a noncanonical amino acid, within enteropeptin.
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