Biosynthesis of hexahydroxyperylenequinone melanin via oxidative aryl coupling by cytochrome P-450 in Streptomyces griseus.

Dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) melanins formed from tyrosine by tyrosinases are found in microorganisms, plants, and animals. Most species in the soil-dwelling, gram-positive bacterial genus Streptomyces produce DOPA melanins and melanogenesis is one of the characteristics used for taxonomy. Here we report a novel melanin biosynthetic pathway involving a type III polyketide synthase (PKS), RppA, and a cytochrome P-450 enzyme, P-450mel, in Streptomyces griseus. In vitro reconstitution of the P-450mel catalyst with spinach ferredoxin-NADP(+) reductase/ferredoxin revealed that it catalyzed oxidative biaryl coupling of 1,3,6,8-tetrahydroxynaphthalene (THN), which was formed from five molecules of malonyl-coenzyme A by the action of RppA to yield 1,4,6,7,9,12-hexahydroxyperylene-3,10-quinone (HPQ). HPQ readily autopolymerized to generate HPQ melanin. Disruption of either the chromosomal rppA or P-450mel gene resulted in abolishment of the HPQ melanin synthesis in S. griseus and a decrease in the resistance of spores to UV-light irradiation. These findings show that THN-derived melanins are not exclusive in eukaryotic fungal genera but an analogous pathway is conserved in prokaryotic streptomycete species as well. A vivid contrast in THN melanin biosynthesis between streptomycetes and fungi is that the THN synthesized by the action of a type III PKS is used directly for condensation in the former, while the THN synthesized by the action of type I PKSs is first reduced and the resultant 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene is then condensed in the latter.