Iterative Enoyl Reduction by a FabV-Family Enzyme Expands the Chemical Landscape of Discrete Polyketide Synthases

Abstract

Polyketides are a structurally diverse class of natural products with immense therapeutic potential. However, the biosynthetic output of discrete polyketide synthases (PKSs) has been constrained by a fundamental functional limitation: unlike modular Type I systems, discrete PKS systems typically lack integrated enoyl reductase (ER) activity. This constraint restricts their chemical repertoire primarily to unsaturated polyenes or aromatic scaffolds. Here, we characterize PbrC16, a FabV-family ER from a manumycin-type biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) in Peterkaempfera bronchialis. This enzyme represents the first experimentally validated ER capable of functioning within discrete PKS architectures. In vitro biochemical reconstitution demonstrates that PbrC16 along with its homologue ScFabV catalyze iterative enoyl reductions in both β-ketoacyl–acyl carrier protein synthase III (KAS III)-dependent and highly reducing (HR) Type II PKS contexts, enabling the complete saturation of long-chain polyketide intermediates. Structural and computational analyses reveal the molecular basis for its exceptional substrate promiscuity and versatile acyl carrier protein (ACP) recognition. These findings resolve a long-standing “reductive gap” in discrete PKS biology and provide a “plug-and-play” module for the rational engineering of saturated polyketide scaffolds.