Discovery of Stealthin Derivatives and Implication of the Amidotransferase FlsN3 in the Biosynthesis of Nitrogen-Containing Fluostatins.

Diazobenzofluorene-containing atypical angucyclines exhibit promising biological activities. Here we report the inactivation of an amidotransferase-encoding gene in SCSIO N160, a producer of fluostatins. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that FlsN3 was involved in the diazo formation. Chemical investigation of the -inactivation mutant resulted in the isolation of a variety of angucycline aromatic polyketides, including four racemic aminobenzo[]fluorenes stealthins D⁻G (⁻) harboring a stealthin C-like core skeleton with an acetone or butanone-like side chain. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic data and X-ray diffraction analysis. A plausible mechanism for the formation of stealthins D⁻G (⁻) was proposed. These results suggested a functional role of FlsN3 in the formation/modification of N⁻N bond-containing fluostatins.