Characterization of rhodosaminyl transfer by the AknS/AknT glycosylation complex and its use in reconstituting the biosynthetic pathway of aclacinomycin A

The tetracyclic core of anthracycline natural products with antitumor activity such as aclacinomycin A are tailored during biosynthesis by regioselective glycosylation. We report the first synthesis of TDP-L-rhodosamine and demonstrate that the glycosyltransferase AknS transfers L-rhodosamine to the aglycone to initiate construction of the side-chain trisaccharide. The partner protein AknT accelerates AknS turnover rate for L-rhodosamine transfer by 200-fold. AknT does not affect the K_m but rather affects the k_cat. Using these data, we propose that AknT causes a conformational change in AknS that stabilizes the transition state and ultimately enhances transfer. When the subsequent glycosyltransferase AknK and its substrate TDP-L-fucose are also added to the aglycone, the disaccharide and low levels of a fully reconstituted trisaccharide form of aclacinomycin are observed.