Doubly labeled (2'
S,3'
R)-[3'-
2H
1,
13C
1]-tryptophan was fed tothe Trp-His auxotrophic
Streptomyces coelicolor strainWH101. Mass spectrometry showed single and doubleincorporation of the labeled Trp into the calcium-dependentlipopeptide antibiotic (CDA4a). From
13C NMR spectroscopy, it was apparent that the C3'-signal of the (
Z)-2',3'-dehydrotryptophan (position 11 in CDA4) was a 1:1:1 tripletindicating that the deuterium atom in the
pro-R position ofthe methylene group is retained during Trp-oxidation. Thisprovides definitive proof that Trp dehydrogenation occursthrough the loss of the 2' and
pro-3'
S hydrogen atoms withoverall
syn stereochemistry.