A unique three-enzyme cascade mediates efficient regioselective and stereospecific epoxytetrahydrofuran ring formation in deoxyverrucosidin biosynthesis

The fungal octaketide deoxyverrucosidin shares the same α-pyrone core with several nonaketides, including aurovertins, citreoviridin, and asteltoxin. Deoxyverrucosidin features a unique epoxytetrahydrofuran ring. In this study, we demonstrate that this ring system is formed <i>via</i> a flavin-containing monooxygenase-mediated epoxidation on the polyene chain, followed by rearrangement with an epoxide expandase and a second epoxidation on the resulting 2,5-dihydrofuran ring with a cytochrome P450 enzyme. This catalytic cascade differs clearly from the formation of dioxybicyclooctane or tetrahydrofuran motifs in other α-pyrone-containing metabolites, involving one flavin-containing monooxygenase and one hydrolase for up to two rounds of epoxide ring formation and expansion.