Total Synthesis of Methylolanthanin for the Evaluation of Its Role in Lanthanide Binding
Faculty Mentor Information
Dr. Kristopher Waynant, University of Idaho; and Robert Hubbard, University of Idaho
Presentation Date
7-15-2026
Abstract
There has been growing interest in the role of lanthanides in methylotrophic bacteria, where early lanthanides support XoxF-type methanol dehydrogenases involved in methanol metabolism and are able to displace the more commonly used Ca²⁺-dependent MxaFI system in lanthanide-rich conditions. Lanthanides are not readily bioavailable in natural environments and require the aid of bacterial small-molecule lanthanophores to assist in rare-earth metal acquisition. Methylolanthanin (MLL) has recently been identified as a candidate lanthanophore, but its chemical properties remain largely unexplored due to the lack of a synthetic pathway. A scalable synthetic route to MLL would facilitate evaluation of its metal-binding behavior outside of the bacterial environment to investigate whether lanthanide binding is an intrinsic property of the molecule itself or depends more strongly on its surroundings. Investigating the nature and role of lanthanophores in biological environments would help improve our understanding of rare-earth metal acquisition to further progress design of new selective chelators for lanthanide binding.
Total Synthesis of Methylolanthanin for the Evaluation of Its Role in Lanthanide Binding
There has been growing interest in the role of lanthanides in methylotrophic bacteria, where early lanthanides support XoxF-type methanol dehydrogenases involved in methanol metabolism and are able to displace the more commonly used Ca²⁺-dependent MxaFI system in lanthanide-rich conditions. Lanthanides are not readily bioavailable in natural environments and require the aid of bacterial small-molecule lanthanophores to assist in rare-earth metal acquisition. Methylolanthanin (MLL) has recently been identified as a candidate lanthanophore, but its chemical properties remain largely unexplored due to the lack of a synthetic pathway. A scalable synthetic route to MLL would facilitate evaluation of its metal-binding behavior outside of the bacterial environment to investigate whether lanthanide binding is an intrinsic property of the molecule itself or depends more strongly on its surroundings. Investigating the nature and role of lanthanophores in biological environments would help improve our understanding of rare-earth metal acquisition to further progress design of new selective chelators for lanthanide binding.