L-2,3-diaminopropionic acid (L-Dap) is an amino acid that is a precursor of antibiotics and staphyloferrin B a siderophore produced by Staphylococcus aureus. SbnA and SbnB are encoded by the staphyloferrin B biosynthetic gene cluster and are implicat ...
L-2,3-diaminopropionic acid (L-Dap) is an amino acid that is a precursor of antibiotics and staphyloferrin B a siderophore produced by Staphylococcus aureus. SbnA and SbnB are encoded by the staphyloferrin B biosynthetic gene cluster and are implicated in L-Dap biosynthesis. We demonstrate here that SbnA uses PLP and substrates O-phospho-L-serine and L-glutamate to produce a metabolite N-(1-amino-1-carboxyl-2-ethyl)-glutamic acid (ACEGA). SbnB is shown to use NAD(+) to oxidatively hydrolyze ACEGA to yield α-ketoglutarate and L-Dap. Also, we describe crystal structures of SbnB in complex with NADH and ACEGA as well as with NAD(+) and α-ketoglutarate to reveal the residues required for substrate binding, oxidation, and hydrolysis. SbnA and SbnB contribute to the iron sparing response of S. aureus that enables staphyloferrin B biosynthesis in the absence of an active tricarboxylic acid cycle.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Centre for Human Immunology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada. Electronic address: michael.murphy@ubc.ca.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada.