Coenzyme A-Conjugated Cinnamic Acids – Enzymatic Synthesis of a CoA-Ester Library and Application in Biocatalytic Cascades to Vanillin Derivatives

Abstract

We present a bioorthogonal method for the ligation of coenzyme A (CoA) with cinnamic acids. The reaction, which is the initial step in the biosynthesis of a multitude of bioactive secondary metabolites, is catalyzed by a promiscuous plant ligase and yields CoA conjugates with different functionalization in high purity and without formation of by-products. Its applicability in biosynthetic cascades is shown for the direct transformation of cinnamic acids into natural benzaldehydes (like vanillin) or artificial derivatives (e. g. ethylvanillin). (Figure presented.).