The biosynthesis of xanthocillin-X monomethyl ether in dichotomomyces cejpii. Experiments on the origin of the isocyanide carbon atoms

Abstract

Precursor feeding experiments establish that the isocyanide groups in xanthocillin-X monomethyl ether (XME)1 do not originate from (i) compounds associated with C₁-tetrahydrofolate metabolism; (ii) the ureido group of citrulline, carbamoyl phosphate, or potassium cyanate; or (iii) cyanide and arguably related compounds. However the results with D-[U-¹³C] glucose show that the origin of the isocyanide groups is metabolically closer to glucose than is the origin of the backbone; DL-[1 -¹³C] glyceraldehyde and D-[1-¹³C]glucose are not specific precursors.