Biochemical studies on 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose - Part VII - Substrate specificity of 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose synthase, the starter enzyme for 2-deoxystreptamine biosynthesis, toward deoxyglucose-6-phosphates and proposed mechanism

A crucial enzyme in the biosynthesis of the 2-deoxystreptamine aglycon of c linically important aminocyclitol antibiotics is 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose syn thase (DOIS), which. is responsible for the initial carbocycle formation of 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose (1) from D-glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P) (2). To get more insight into the mechanism and substrate specificity, deoxy-D-glucose- 6-phosphates (deoxy-G-6-P) were chemically synthesized and subjected to the reaction with DOIS. The enzyme appeared to use 2-deoxy- and 3-deoxy-G-6-P as substrates, both of which were converted into the corresponding dideoxy- scyllo-inosose products, but 4-deoxy-G-6-P failed in cyclization by DOIS. T hese results clearly support the proposed reaction mechanism involving the initial oxidation at C-4 of the G-6-P substrate. Another implication is the potential use of DOIS for the preparation of useful dideoxyinososes.