Heterologous expression, isolation, and characterization of versicolorin B synthase from Aspergillus parasiticus. A key enzyme in the aflatoxin B1 biosynthetic pathway.

Aflatoxin B1 is a potent environmental carcinogen produced by certain strains of Aspergillus. Central to the biosynthesis of this mycotoxin is the reaction catalyzed by versicolorin B synthase (VBS) in which a racemic substrate, versiconal hemiacetal, is cyclized to an optically active product whose absolute configuration is crucial to the interaction of aflatoxin B1 with DNA. Attempted over-production of VBS in Escherichia coli led principally to protein aggregated into inclusion bodies but also small amounts of soluble but catalytically inactive enzyme. Comparisons to wild-type VBS by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and after N-glycosidase F treatment revealed that extensive glycosylation accounted for the mass discrepancy (7,000+/-1,500 Da) between the native and bacterially expressed proteins. Several over-expression systems in Saccharomyces cerevisiae were surveyed in which one that incorporated a secretion signal was found most successful. VBS of indistinguishable mass on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and kinetic properties from the wild-type enzyme could be obtained in 50-100-fold greater amounts and whose catalytic behavior has been examined. The translated protein sequence of VBS showed three potential N-glycosylation sites (Asn-Xaa-Ser/Thr) consistent with the modifications observed above and unexpectedly revealed extensive homology to the ADP-binding region prominently conserved in the glucose-methanol-choline (GMC) family of flavoenzymes. Over-production of VBS in yeast marks the first aflatoxin biosynthetic enzyme to be so obtained and opens the way to direct study of the enzymology of this complex biosynthetic pathway.