Nucleocidin

Nucleocidin is an adenosine derivative containing 4'-fluoro and 5'-O-sulfamoyl substituents. In this study, nucleocidin biosynthesis is examined in two newly discovered producers, Streptomyces virens B-24331 and Streptomyces aureorectus B-24301, which produce nucleocidin and related derivatives at titers 30-fold greater than S. calvus. This enabled the identification of two new O-acetylated nucleocidin derivatives, and a potential glycosyl-O-acetyltransferase. Disruption of nucJ, nucG, and nucI, within S. virens B-24331, specifying a radical SAM/Fe-S dependent enzyme, sulfatase, and arylsulfatase, respectively, led to loss of 5'-O-sulfamoyl biosynthesis, but not fluoronucleoside production. Disruption of nucN, nucK, and nucO specifying an amidinotransferase, and two sulfotransferases respectively, led to loss of fluoronucleoside production. Identification of S. virens B-24331 as a genetically tractable and high producing strain sets the stage for understanding nucleocidin biosynthesis and highlights the utility of using 16S-RNA sequences to identify alternative producers of valuable compounds in the absence of genome sequence data.

The history and development of 4'-fluoro-nucleosides is discussed in this review. This is a class of nucleosides which have their origin in the discovery of the rare fluorine containing natural product nucleocidin. Nucleocidin contains a fluorine atom located at the 4'-position of its ribose ring. From its early isolation as an unexpected natural product, to its total synthesis and bioactivity assessment, nucleocidin has played a role in inspiring the exploration of 4'-fluoro-nucleosides as a privileged motif for nucleoside-based therapeutics.

The isolation of three adenosine based metabolites 6-8 from Streptomyces calvus is reported. The metabolites are structurally related to the fluorine containing antibiotic nucleocidin 1 and two recently identified glycosylated fluoroadenosines 2 and 3, however in this case the three metabolites do not contain a fluorine, suggesting that the biosynthetic enzymes to the fluorometabolites also process their non-fluorinated counterparts.