Mechanistic Insights into the Radical S‐adenosyl‐l‐methionine Enzyme NosL From a Substrate Analogue and the Shunt Products

The radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) enzyme NosL catalyzes the transformation of l-tryptophan into 3-methyl-2-indolic acid (MIA), which is a key intermediate in the biosynthesis of a clinically interesting antibiotic nosiheptide. NosL catalysis was investigated by using the substrate analogue 2-methyl-3-(indol-3-yl)propanoic acid (MIPA), which can be converted into MIA by NosL. Biochemical assays with different MIPA isotopomers in D2O and H2O unambiguously indicated that the 5′-deoxyadenosyl (dAdo)-radical-mediated hydrogen abstraction is from the amino group of l-tryptophan and not a protein residue. Surprisingly, the dAdo-radical-mediated hydrogen abstraction occurs at two different sites of MIPA, thereby partitioning the substrate into different reaction pathways. Together with identification of an α,β-unsaturated ketone shunt product, our study provides valuable mechanistic insight into NosL catalysis and highlights the remarkable catalytic flexibility of radical SAM enzymes.