<i>Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius</i>
Squalene‐Hopene Cyclase: The Critical Role of Steric Bulk at Ala306 and the First Enzymatic Synthesis of Epoxydammarane from 2,3‐Oxidosqualene
SHC is widely conserved in known SHCs. Increases in steric bulk (A306T and A306V) led to the accumulation of 6,6,6,5‐fused tetracyclic scaffolds with 20R stereochemistry. This indicates folding of squalene in a chair‐chair‐chair‐boat conformation. The stereochemical fate in polycyclization is thus governed by the bulk at this position.