alamethicin and phenylalaninol

Paracelsin, a hemolytic and membrane active polypeptide antibiotic of the peptaibol class which is excreted by the mold Trichoderma reesei, was obtained by a simplified and rapid isolation procedure utilizing hydrophobic adsorber resins. Investigation by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and circular dichroism revealed considerable helical portions in solution, and the very recently accomplished sequence determination of paracelsin allows the discussion of the results with regard to the closely related analogues, alamethicin and suzukacillin. A selective cleavage of the peptide was achieved by careful treatment with various acids, and a buffer of pH 8.25 and of high ionic strength made possible the quantitative determination of the C-terminal phenylalaninol released by means of ion-exchange chromatography. The significance of the production of paracelsin and related mycotoxins of the peptaibol class, exhibiting various kinds of biological activity, is discussed with respect to the extensive effort being made towards biotechnological applications of species, strains and cellulolytically highly active mutants of the fungus Trichoderma.

Topics: Alamethicin; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; Chromatography; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Circular Dichroism; Erythrocytes; Hemolysis; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Molecular Conformation; Peptides; Phenylalanine; Trichoderma

Alamethicin synthetase was extracted from the fungus Trichoderma viride at the end of its exponential growth phase. It is multienzyme complex with a molecular weight of approx. 480 000. The biosynthesis of alamethicin is initiated on the synthetase by acetylation of thiolester-bound aminoisobutyric acid, which remains enzyme bound. Acetyl-CoA serves as the acetate donor. Of the alamethicin constituents, glycine, alanine and valine are also acetylated when incubated alone. This acetylation is prevented by added aminoisobutyric acid, which indicates that the site on alamethicin synthetase catalyzing the acetylation has a preference for aminoisobutyric acid. Alamethicin formation on the synthetase is terminated by linkage of phenylalaninol to the carboxyl terminus of the peptide. It is unlikely that the amino alcohol is a degradation product of alamethicin or that it had been split off from the synthetase complex. Thus it is probably the reaction product of a separate enzyme system.

Topics: Acetylation; Alamethicin; Aminoisobutyric Acids; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Binding Sites; Chemical Phenomena; Chemistry; Mitosporic Fungi; Peptide Synthases; Phenylalanine; Trichoderma