Natural Diels-Alderases: Elusive and Irresistable

J Org Chem. 2015 Dec 4;80(23):11672-85. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.5b01951.

Abstract

Eight examples of biosynthetic pathways wherein a natural enzyme has been identified and claimed to function as a catalyst for the [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction, namely, Diels-Alderases, are briefly reviewed. These are discussed in the context of the mechanistic challenges associated with the technical difficulty of proving that the net formal [4 + 2] cycloaddition under study indeed proceeds through a synchronous mechanism and that the putative biosynthetic enzyme deploys the pericyclic transition state required for a Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Biocatalysis
  • Biological Products / chemical synthesis*
  • Biological Products / chemistry
  • Biological Products / metabolism
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Cycloaddition Reaction
  • Naphthalenes / chemical synthesis*
  • Naphthalenes / chemistry
  • Naphthalenes / metabolism
  • Pyrones / chemical synthesis*
  • Pyrones / chemistry
  • Pyrones / metabolism

Substances

  • Biological Products
  • Naphthalenes
  • Pyrones
  • solanapyrone B
  • solanapyrone A