decarbamoyloxySaxitoxins (doSTXs), dd-doSTX (2), 12β-deoxy-doSTX (3), 12α-deoxy-doSTX (4) and doSTX (5) were synthesized, and 2, 3, and 5 were identified in the toxin-producing marine dinoflagellates and a freshwater cyanobacterium. In addition, conversion of 2 to 3, and 4 to 5 by SxtT with VanB was confirmed. These results support that 2 is a biosynthetic precursor of STX (1), and that ring and side-chain hydroxylation proceed after cyclization in STX biosynthesis.

Abstract

Saxitoxin (STX, 1) is a representative compound of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) that are produced by marine dinoflagellates and freshwater cyanobacteria. Although several pathways have been proposed for the biosynthesis of STX, the order of ring and side chain hydroxylation, and formation of the tricyclic skeleton have not been well established. In this study, 12,12-dideoxy-decarbamoyloxySTX (dd-doSTX, 2), the most reduced STX analogue having the tricyclic skeleton, and its analogues, 12β-deoxy-doSTX (12β-d-doSTX, 3), 12α-deoxy-doSTX (12α-d-doSTX, 4), and doSTX (5), were synthesized, and these compounds were screened in the toxic microalgae using high-resolution LCMSMS. dd-doSTX (2) and 12β-d-doSTX (3) were identified in the PSTs-producing dinoflagellates (Alexandrium catenella, A. pacificum, and/or Gymnodinium catenatum) and in the cyanobacterium Dolichospermum circinale (TA04). doSTX (5), previously isolated from the dinoflagellate G. catenatum, was also identified in D. circinale (TA04). Furthermore, the conversion of 2 to 3, and 4 to 5, by SxtT with VanB, a reported Rieske oxygenase and its redox partner in STX biosynthesis, was confirmed. These results support that 2 is a possible biosynthetic precursor of STX, and that ring and side-chain hydroxylations proceed after cyclization.