Biosynthesis
The biosynthesis of swainsonine has been investigated in the fungus Rhizoctonia leguminicola, and it initially involves the conversion of lysine into pipecolic acid. The pyrrolidine ring is then formed via retention of the carbon atom of the pipecolate’s carboxyl group, as well as the coupling of two more carbon atoms from either acetate or malonate to form a pipecolylacetate. The retention of the carboxyl carbon is striking, since it is normally lost in the biosynthesis of most other alkaloids.
The resulting oxoindolizidine is then reduced to (1R,8aS)- 1-hydroxyindolizidine, which is subsequently hydroxylated at the C2 carbon atom to yield 1,2-dihydroxyindolizidine. Finally, an 8-hydroxyl group is introduced through epimerization at C-8a to yield swainsonine. Schneider et al. have suggested that oxidation occurs at C-8a to give an iminium ion. Reduction from the β face would then yield the R configuration of swainsonine, as opposed to the S configuration of slaframine, another indolizine alkaloid whose biosynthesis is similar to that of swainsonine during the first half of the pathway and also shown above alongside that of swainsonine. The instance at which oxidation and reduction occur with regard to the introduction of the hydroxyl groups at the C2 and C8 positions is still under investigation.
The biosynthetic pathway of swainsonine has also been investigated in the Diablo locoweed. Through detection of (1,8a-trans)-1-hydroxyindolizidine and (1,8a-trans-1,2-cis)-1,2-dihydroxyindolizidine—two precursors of swainsonine in the fungus pathway—in the shoots of the plant, Harris et al. proposed that the biosynthetic pathway of swainsonine in the locoweed is nearly identical to that of the fungus.
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