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. 1978 Dec;75(12):6253–6257. doi: 10.1073/pnas.75.12.6253

Cell-free ring expansion of penicillin N to deacetoxycephalosporin C by Cephalosporium acremonium CW-19 and its mutants.

M Yoshida, T Konomi, M Kohsaka, J E Baldwin, S Herchen, P Singh, N A Hunt, A L Demain
PMCID: PMC393159  PMID: 282643

Abstract

To examine microbiological ring expansion of penicillin N to a cephalosporin, we obtained five mutants of Cephalosporium acremonium blocked in beta-lactam antibiotic biosynthesis from 2500 survivors of mutagenesis. In submerged fermentation, mutants M-0198, M-0199, and M-2351 produced no beta-lactam antibiotic (type A), whereas mutants M-1443 and M-1836 formed penicillin N but not cephalosporin C (type B). Cell-free extracts of type A mutants converted penicillin N to a cephalosporin; those of type B mutants did not. The product of the cell-free reaction was identified as deacetoxycephalosporin C by thin-layer chromatography, paper chromatography, paper electrophoresis, and enzyme tests. These data strongly support our hypothesis that penicillin N is an intermediate of cephalosporin biosynthesis.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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