α-Pyrone Derivatives from Calcarisporium arbuscula Discovered by Genome Mining

A highly reducing polyketide synthase (HRPKS) gene cluster from the genome of Calcarisporium arbuscula was identified through genome mining. Heterologous expression of this cluster led to the production of four new α-pyrone compounds, calcapyrones A (1) and B (2), along with their biosynthetic intermediates calcapyrones C (3) and D (4). The structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic experiments, and the absolute configurations of the 7,8-diol moieties in 1 and 2 were assigned using Snatzke’s method. The biosynthetic pathway of 1 and 2 was established through in vivo and in vitro experiments.