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Using cell-free extract of Lysobacter lactamgenus, enzymatic conversion of delta-L-(alpha-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine (ACV), the first substrate of beta-lactam biosynthesis, into antibiotic compounds was attempted. In high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis, the biosynthetic intermediates for cephalosporin antibiotics including isopenicillin N, deacetoxycephalosporin C, deacetylcephalosporin C and unknown cephem compound were detected in reaction mixtures. It implies that cephabacin compounds from L. lactamgenus could be produced by biosynthetic routes through penicillin ring formation and its expansion to cephalosporin ring, likely as cephalosporin C from Cephalosporium or cephamycin C from Streptomyces. Among biosynthetic enzyme in cell-free extract, the ring formation activity (isopenicillin N synthetase activity) was separated in 50-60% of ammonium sulfate fraction, and ring expansion activity (deacetoxycephalosporin C synthetase activity) was found to be in 40-50% fraction. The partially purified isopenicillin N synthetase could convert as much as 90% ACV to isopenicillin N during 6-hour reaction.
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