3,4-Dihydro-3,6,8-trihydoroxy-1(2H)-napthalenone → 1,3,6,8-Naphthalenetetrol

Participants

Reaction Steps

Biosynthesis of DHN melanin is synthesized by a polyketide pathway, through the genes encoding Polyketide synthase (PKS), Scytalone dehydratase (SCD), and 1,3,8-trihydroxynaphthalene reductase (THN). It started with a PKS using malonyl-CoA as a substrate to produce 1,3,6,8-tetrahydroxynaphthalene, 1,3,6,8-THN (Fujii et al., 2000), followed by reducatse catalysis to produce scytalone, dehydration by SCD to yield 1,3,8-trihydroxynaphthalene (1,3,8-THN), reduction by THN to yield vermelone, dehydration to produce melanin precursor 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene (1,8-DHN), and then oxidation and polymerization to yield melanin.

Provenance & Evidence