Anaerobic Origin of Ergothioneine

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 56; no. 41; pp. 12508 - 12511
• Main Authors: Burn, Reto, Misson, Laëtitia, Meury, Marcel, Seebeck, Florian P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 02.10.2017
• Edition: International ed. in English
• Subjects: Activated carbon; antioxidants; Biosynthesis; carbon–sulfur bonds; enzyme catalysis; Enzymes; ergothioneine; Fungi; Green sulfur bacteria; Microorganisms; Oxygen; Plants (botany); Reactive oxygen species; Rhodanese; Sulfur; sulfur transferases; ergothioneine; enzyme catalysis; carbon-sulfur bonds; antioxidants; sulfur transferases
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201705932

Ergothioneine is a sulfur metabolite that occurs in microorganisms, fungi, plants, and animals. The physiological function of ergothioneine is not clear. In recent years broad scientific consensus has formed around the idea that cellular ergothioneine primarily protects against reactive oxygen species. Herein we provide evidence that this focus on oxygen chemistry may be too narrow. We describe two enzymes from the strictly anaerobic green sulfur bacterium Chlorobium limicola that mediate oxygen‐independent biosynthesis of ergothioneine. This anoxic origin suggests that ergothioneine is also important for oxygen‐independent life. Furthermore, one of the discovered ergothioneine biosynthetic enzymes provides the first example of a rhodanese‐like enzyme that transfers sulfur to non‐activated carbon. Without oxygen: The sulfur metabolite ergothioneine is a ubiquitous scavenger of reactive oxygen species. Discovery of ergothioneine production in strictly anaerobic bacteria and archaea suggests that ergothioneine is also important for anoxic life.