(634f) Engineered Biosynthesis of Benzoxazoles in Escherichia coli

Benzoxazoles represent a family of heterocyclic compounds featuring a benzene-fused oxazole ring structure, which are found in a variety of prescribed pharmaceuticals. Moreover, natural benzoxazoles also display a range of pharmaceutical potentials such as antimicrobial, anti-leishmania, and anti-cancer. To advance benzoxazole-based drug development, an eco-friendly and rapid platform for generating a library of benzoxazole analogues is indispensable. In this study, we report an E. coli-based biosynthetic platform for modifying benzoxazole structures. This platform has several unique features, including the capability of simultaneous production of multiple benzoxazoles and the broad substrate tolerance. We have employed this platform to expand the structural diversity of benzoxazoles by incorporating a variety of pharmaceutically important functionalities into the benzoxazole scaffold. Our E. coli-based platform thus serves as the basis for future engineering efforts to establish bioprocesses to overproduce and diversify benzoxazoles for drug development.