Cloning and Heterologous Expression of the Thioviridamide Biosynthesis Gene Cluster from Streptomyces olivoviridis

Thioviridamide is a unique peptide antibiotic containing five thioamide bonds from Streptomyces olivoviridis. Draft genome sequencing revealed a gene (the tvaA gene) encoding the thioviridamide precursor peptide. The thioviridamide biosynthesis gene cluster was identified by heterologous production of thioviridamide in Streptomyces lividans.     

Identification and Heterologous Expression of the Chaxamycin Biosynthesis Gene Cluster from Streptomyces leeuwenhoekii

Streptomyces leeuwenhoekii, isolated from the hyperarid Atacama Desert, produces the new ansamycin-like compounds chaxamycins A to D, which possess potent antibacterial activity and moderate antiproliferative activity. We report the development of genetic tools to manipulate S. leeuwenhoekii and the identification and partial characterization of the 80.2-kb chaxamycin biosynthesis gene cluster, which was achieved by both mutational analysis in the natural producer and heterologous expression in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) strain M1152. Restoration of chaxamycin production in a nonproducing ΔcxmK mutant (cxmK encodes 3-amino-5-hydroxybenzoic acid [AHBA] synthase) was achieved by supplementing the growth medium with AHBA, suggesting that mutasynthesis may be a viable approach for the generation of novel chaxamycin derivatives.     

Multiplexed Integrating Plasmids for Engineering of the Erythromycin Gene Cluster for Expression in Streptomyces spp. and Combinatorial Biosynthesis

Bacteria in the genus Streptomyces and its close relatives are prolific producers of secondary metabolites with antibiotic activity. Genome sequencing of these bacteria has revealed a rich source of potentially new antibiotic pathways, whose products have never been observed. Moreover, these new pathways can provide novel genes that could be used in combinatorial biosynthesis approaches to generate unnatural analogues of existing antibiotics. We explore here the use of multiple orthologous integrating plasmid systems, based on the int/attP loci from phages TG1, SV1, and ϕBT1, to express the polyketide synthase (PKS) for erythromycin in a heterologous Streptomyces host. Streptomyces strains containing the three polyketide synthase genes eryAI, eryAII, and eryAIII expressed from three different integrated plasmids produced the aglycone intermediate, 6-deoxyerythronolide B (6-dEB). A further pair of integrating plasmids, both derived from the ϕC31 int/attP locus, were constructed carrying a gene cassette for glycosylation of the aglycone intermediates, with or without the tailoring gene, eryF, required for the synthesis of erythronolide B (EB). Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry of the metabolites indicated the production of angolosaminyl-6-dEB and angolosaminyl-EB. The advantages of using multiplexed integrating plasmids for engineering expression and for combinatorial biosynthesis were demonstrated.     

罗中链霉菌中衣霉素基因簇的克隆及异源表达

衣霉素属于核苷类抗生素,具有抑制蛋白质N-糖基化的活性,是潜在的药物先导化合物.罗中链霉菌(Streptomyces luozzhongensis)TRM49605是一株产衣霉素的链霉菌属(Streptomyces)的新物种.本研究旨在探索TRM49605中衣霉素生物合成基因簇的生物学功能,为新型药物开发提供理论依据....     

The Gene Cluster for Spectinomycin Biosynthesis and the Aminoglycoside-Resistance Function of spcM in Streptomyces spectabilis

The gene cluster for spectinomycin biosynthesis from Streptomyces spectabilis was analyzed completely and registered under the accession number EU255259 at the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Based on sequence analysis, spcM of the S. spectabilis cluster is the only methyltransferase candidate required for methylation in spectinomycin biosynthesis. It has high similarity with the conserved domain of DNA methylase, which contains both N-4 cytosine-specific DNA methylases and N-6 adenine-specific DNA methylases. Nucleotide methylation can provide antibiotic resistance, such as 16S rRNA methyltransferase, to Enterobacteriaceae. We therefore tested a hypothesis that SpcM offers aminoglycoside resistance to bacteria. The heterologous expression of spcM in Escherichia coli and S. lividans enhanced resistance against spectinomycin and its relative aminoglycoside antibiotics. We therefore propose that one of the functions of SpcM may be conferring aminoglycoside antibiotic resistance to cells.     

Molecular Cloning of the Actinomycin Synthetase Gene Cluster from Streptomyces chrysomallus and Functional Heterologous Expression of the Gene Encoding Actinomycin Synthetase II

The actinomycin synthetases ACMS I, II, and III catalyze the assembly of the acyl peptide lactone precursor of actinomycin by a nonribosomal mechanism. We have cloned the genes of ACMS I (acmA) and ACMS II (acmB) by hybridization screening of a cosmid library of Streptomyces chrysomallus DNA with synthetic oligonucleotides derived from peptide sequences of the two enzymes. Their genes were found to be closely linked and are arranged in opposite orientations. Hybridization mapping and partial sequence analyses indicate that the gene of an additional peptide synthetase, most likely the gene of ACMS III (acmC), is located immediately downstream of acmB in the same orientation. The protein sequence of ACMS II, deduced from acmB, shows that the enzyme contains two amino acid activation domains, which are characteristic of peptide synthetases, and an additional epimerization domain. Heterologous expression of acmB from the mel promoter of plasmid PIJ702 in Streptomyces lividans yielded a functional 280-kDa peptide synthetase which activates threonine and valine as enzyme-bound thioesters. It also catalyzes the dipeptide formation of threonyl–l-valine, which is epimerized to threonyl–d-valine. Both of these dipeptides are enzyme bound as thioesters. This catalytic activity is identical to the in vitro activity of ACMS II from S. chrysomallus.The actinomycins are a class of chromopeptide lactones produced by various Streptomyces strains. They contain two pentapeptide lactone rings attached to chromophoric 4,6-dimethylphenoxazinone-1,9-dicarboxylic acid (actinocin) in an amide-like fashion. Actinocin is formally derived from the compound 4-methyl-3-hydroxyanthranilic acid (4-MHA), but actually the bicyclic actinomycins arise from the oxidative condensation of two preformed monocyclic 4-MHA pentapeptide lactones (12). Previous investigations have revealed that the formation of the 4-MHA pentapeptide lactones is catalyzed by three actinomycin synthetases (ACMS I, II, and III) (13, 15). ACMS I (45 kDa) is a 4-MHA–AMP ligase which activates 4-MHA as adenylate. The five amino acids of the pentapeptide lactone ring of actinomycin (NH₂-cyclo[Thr–d-Val–Pro–N-methyl-Gly–N-methyl-Val] for actinomycin D) are assembled by ACMS II (280 kDa) and ACMS III (480 kDa) which from their properties belong to the class of peptide synthetases (13, 26, 27). ACMS II catalyzes the activation of threonine and valine. In the presence of ACMS I, which supplies 4-MHA–adenylate, 4-MHA–threonine and 4-MHA–threonyl–d-valine (via 4-MHA–threonyl–l-valine) are formed on the surface of ACMS II. In the absence of 4-MHA or ACMS I, purified ACMS II can synthesize both threonyl–l-valine and threonyl–d-valine, though to a lesser extent than the corresponding 4-MHA dipeptides can. The epimerization of valine is catalyzed by ACMS II at the acyl-dipeptide stage. An analysis of ACMS III suggests that it elongates the 4-MHA–Thr–d-Val dipeptide by successive incorporation of proline, N-methylglycine (sarcosine), and N-methyl-l-valine into the growing peptide chain (13). N-methylation is an additional feature of ACMS III. A total cell-free system for 4-MHA pentapeptide lactone synthesis is not available yet. Thus, it is not known how 4-MHA dipeptide transfer from ACMS II to ACMS III is accomplished, nor is the mechanism of lactone formation and release from the 4-MHA pentapeptide known.The available data indicate that ACMS II and ACMS III contain two- and three-amino-acid activation domains, respectively. It is known that activation domains of peptide synthetases are highly conserved in their sequences and are composed of a segment for amino acid adenylation and a segment for binding the activated amino acid as a thioester (17, 24, 25, 32). Thioester formation occurs via the thiol group of 4′-phosphopantetheine, which is a covalently bound cofactor of the activation domain. ACMS II and III both contain 4′-phosphopantetheine. In contrast, ACMS I has no 4′-phosphopantetheine cofactor, consistent with the finding that it does not form a thioester with 4-MHA. Data from previous work pointed instead to the formation of a 4-MHA thioester with ACMS II (26). In order to investigate the modular structure of the ACMSs and the reaction mechanisms in more detail, we set out to clone the ACMS genes from Streptomyces chrysomallus with oligonucleotide probes derived from partial sequences of ACMS I and II. We show that the genes of ACMS I and II and of a third peptide synthetase, most probably the gene of ACMS III (acmA, acmB, and acmC, respectively) are closely linked, forming a gene cluster. A total sequence determination of acmB and the characterization of the heterologously expressed functional active gene product confirm the significance of this peptide synthetase gene cluster.     

Cloning of Transglutaminase Gene from Streptomyces fradiae and its Enhanced Expression in the Original Strain

The transglutaminase (TGase) gene of Streptomyces fradiae was cloned. It had an ORF of 1242 bp, encoding a presumed prepro-region of 82 amino acids and a mature TGase of 331 amino acids. Enhanced expression of the TGase was achieved by introducing another copy of TGase gene into the original host genome which was driven by the strong constitutive promoter, “ermE up”, and shown to be expressed at the mRNA and protein levels. TGase activity in the recombinant strain (3.2 U/ml) was improved 1.3-fold when compared to that normally expressed in the original strain (2.4 U/ml). The specific enzyme activity in the recombinant strain (3.8 U/mg) was double that of the original strain (1.9 U/mg).     

Discovery of Gene Cluster for Mycosporine-Like Amino Acid Biosynthesis from Actinomycetales Microorganisms and Production of a Novel Mycosporine-Like Amino Acid by Heterologous Expression

Mycosporines and mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), including shinorine (mycosporine-glycine-serine) and porphyra-334 (mycosporine-glycine-threonine), are UV-absorbing compounds produced by cyanobacteria, fungi, and marine micro- and macroalgae. These MAAs have the ability to protect these organisms from damage by environmental UV radiation. Although no reports have described the production of MAAs and the corresponding genes involved in MAA biosynthesis from Gram-positive bacteria to date, genome mining of the Gram-positive bacterial database revealed that two microorganisms belonging to the order Actinomycetales, Actinosynnema mirum DSM 43827 and Pseudonocardia sp. strain P1, possess a gene cluster homologous to the biosynthetic gene clusters identified from cyanobacteria. When the two strains were grown in liquid culture, Pseudonocardia sp. accumulated a very small amount of MAA-like compound in a medium-dependent manner, whereas A. mirum did not produce MAAs under any culture conditions, indicating that the biosynthetic gene cluster of A. mirum was in a cryptic state in this microorganism. In order to characterize these biosynthetic gene clusters, each biosynthetic gene cluster was heterologously expressed in an engineered host, Streptomyces avermitilis SUKA22. Since the resultant transformants carrying the entire biosynthetic gene cluster controlled by an alternative promoter produced mainly shinorine, this is the first confirmation of a biosynthetic gene cluster for MAA from Gram-positive bacteria. Furthermore, S. avermitilis SUKA22 transformants carrying the biosynthetic gene cluster for MAA of A. mirum accumulated not only shinorine and porphyra-334 but also a novel MAA. Structure elucidation revealed that the novel MAA is mycosporine-glycine-alanine, which substitutes l-alanine for the l-serine of shinorine.     

Heterologous Expression of the Single-Mutation Glucose Isomerase (GIG138P) Gene in Streptomyces lividans and Its Genetic Instability

A 1.3-kb PstI-BamHI fragment containing the single-mutation glucose isomerase (GIG138P, GI1) gene and its natural promoter was inserted into PstI-BglII linearized Streptomyces vector pIJ702. The ligation mixture was then introduced into Streptomyces lividans TK54 protoplasts; transformants were identified based on their thiostrepton resistance (Th^R) and insertional inactivation of the melanin phenotype; and three white colonies, XY-2, 6, and 9, harboring recombinant expression plasmid pYH703, were obtained. Enzyme assay and SDS-PAGE analysis indicated that the GI1 gene was expressed, the intracellular GI1 specific activity was 6 U/mg, and GI1 accounted for 20% of the soluble proteins in S. lividans. Restriction analysis and Southern blot of pYH703 showed the existence of plasmid deletion, presumably owing to the interaction between the mel and GI1 sequences. Continuous liquid cultures of the recombinant strain demonstrated that the GI1 specific activity and GI1 expression in S. lividans decreased, and more obviously under non-selective conditions. Received: 10 August 2000 / Accepted: 5 September 2000     

Cloning and Characterization of a Gene Cluster for Hatomarubigin Biosynthesis in Streptomyces sp. Strain 2238-SVT4

Streptomyces sp. strain 2238-SVT4 produces hatomarubigins A, B, C, and D, which belong to the angucycline family. Among them, hatomarubigin D has a unique dimeric structure with a methylene linkage. PCR using aromatase and cyclase gene-specific primers identified the hrb gene cluster for angucycline biosynthesis in Streptomyces sp. 2238-SVT4. The cluster consisted of 30 open reading frames, including those for the minimal polyketide synthase, ketoreductase, aromatase, cyclase, O-methyltransferase, oxidoreductase, and oxygenase genes. Expression of a part of the gene cluster containing hrbR1 to hrbX in Streptomyces lividans TK23 resulted in the production of hatomarubigins A, B, and C. Hatomarubigin D was obtained from the conversion of hatomarubigin C by a purified enzyme encoded by hrbY, among the remaining genes.The angucycline antibiotics are a large group of naturally occurring aromatic polyketides of microbial origin (11, 15). They exhibit a wide range of biological activities, which include antibacterial, antiviral, antitumor, enzyme inhibitory, and platelet aggregation inhibitory effects. Although all the members contain a benz[a]anthraquinone skeleton of decaketide origin, their structural diversity is very broad and they have a wide variety of oxidation states. Hatomarubigins A, B, C, and D (Fig. ​(Fig.1)1) belong to the angucycline family and reverse colchicine resistance in multidrug-resistant tumor cells (8). Among them, hatomarubigin D is a unique hatomarubigin C dimer with a methylene linkage. Such a dimer has not been reported previously, and little is known about the mechanism of the methylene bridge formation between two aromatic rings. In this study, a gene cluster for hatomarubigin biosynthesis was identified in Streptomyces sp. strain 2238-SVT4, and a part of the gene cluster was expressed in Streptomyces lividans to produce the hatomarubigins.Open in a separate windowFIG. 1.Structures of angucycline antibiotics.     

Cloning and Heterologous Expression of the Vibrioferrin Biosynthetic Gene Cluster from a Marine Metagenomic Library

A biosynthetic gene cluster of siderophore consisting of five open reading frames (ORFs) was cloned by functional screening of a metagenomic library constructed from tidal-flat sediment. Expression of the cloned biosynthetic genes in Escherichia coli led to the production of vibrioferrin, a siderophore originally reported for the marine bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of heterologous production of a siderophore by biosynthetic genes cloned from a metagenomic library. The cloned cluster was one of the largest of the clusters obtained by functional screening. In this study, we demonstrated and extended the possibility of function-based metagenomic research.     

链霉菌Streptomyces tenebrarius H6中与抗生素有关的糖生物合成基因的克隆

链霉菌S.tenebrarius H6产生多种氨基糖甙类抗生素,主要有阿普霉素、妥普霉素及卡那霉素B,其中阿普霉素因含有8碳糖的一种特殊结构令人注目,它的抗菌谱广,特别是对革兰氏阴性菌有较强的抗菌活性,不容易产生耐药性,对已有的耐药菌产生的氨基糖苷转移酶等失活酶仍有抵抗力.主要用于牛、猪、鸡等的大肠杆菌、沙门氏菌和支原体所引起的白痢、腹泻和肺炎等疾病.迄今有关八碳糖生物合成基因簇的研究在国内外尚无报道,在该菌株开展有关糖合成代谢基因的研究有着一定的意义.     

Identification of a Polymyxin Synthetase Gene Cluster of Paenibacillus polymyxa and Heterologous Expression of the Gene in Bacillus subtilis

Polymyxin, a long-known peptide antibiotic, has recently been reintroduced in clinical practice because it is sometimes the only available antibiotic for the treatment of multidrug-resistant gram-negative pathogenic bacteria. Lack of information on the biosynthetic genes of polymyxin, however, has limited the study of structure-function relationships and the development of improved polymyxins. During whole genome sequencing of Paenibacillus polymyxa E681, a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium, we identified a gene cluster encoding polymyxin synthetase. Here, we report the complete sequence of the gene cluster and its function in polymyxin biosynthesis. The gene cluster spanning the 40.6-kb region consists of five open reading frames, designated pmxA, pmxB, pmxC, pmxD, and pmxE. The pmxC and pmxD genes are similar to genes that encode transport proteins, while pmxA, pmxB, and pmxE encode polymyxin synthetases. The insertional disruption of pmxE led to a loss of the ability to produce polymyxin. Introduction of the pmx gene cluster into the amyE locus of the Bacillus subtilis chromosome resulted in the production of polymyxin in the presence of extracellularly added l-2,4-diaminobutyric acid. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that the pmx gene cluster is responsible for polymyxin biosynthesis.Since polymyxin was first isolated from Bacillus polymyxa in 1947 (1, 4, 47), at least 15 unique polymyxins have been reported (31, 49). Because of its excellent bactericidal activity against gram-negative bacteria, polymyxin antibiotics (polymyxin B and polymyxin E) were used until early 1970 as therapies against many diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms. However, because they carried serious side effects, including fever, skin eruption, and pain, and also induced severe nephrotoxicity and neurotoxicity (18, 37), it was rapidly replaced by other, better-tolerated antibiotics. In recent years, its application has been restricted to use as an ointment on local surface wounds.Due to the increased and often unnecessary use of antibiotics, pathogenic microorganisms with resistance to antibiotics have become more widespread (2, 14, 30, 38). Under the limited therapeutic options available to treat multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, polymyxins are sometimes the only available active antibiotics and have now become important therapeutic agents (13, 25, 28, 29, 55). Many recent reports have shown that patients infected with multidrug-resistant gram-negative pathogens improved upon treatment with polymyxins (19, 27, 44, 48). In addition, polymyxins have been applied to prevent septic shock by removing circulating endotoxin to polystyrene fibers in an immobilized form (8). Therefore, the clinical value of polymyxin, an antibiotic discovered 6 decades ago, is currently being reappraised. However, until now, we have had a very limited understanding of various characteristics of this agent, especially its biosynthetic genes.To analyze structure-function relationships and to develop improved polymyxins with lowered toxicities, novel polymyxin derivatives must be generated. Recently, total or semisynthesis or modifications of polymyxins was performed chemically or enzymatically, and the resulting products were effectively used for structure-function study (6, 20, 36, 45, 50, 52). There is a limitation to obtaining diverse derivatives by using chemical or enzymatic approaches, however, and this limitation is related to the structural complexity of polymyxin. The basic structure of polymyxin is a cyclic heptapeptide with a tripeptide side chain acylated by a fatty acid at the amino terminus (49). Normally, 6-methyloctanoic acid or 6-methylheptanoic acid is attached to the side chain. This structure favors solubility of polymyxin in both water and organic solvent. Unlike other general ribosomally translated peptides, polymyxin is produced by a nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) (22, 31). NRPSs are multienzyme complexes that have modular structures (35, 46). A module is a distinct section of the multienzyme that is responsible for the incorporation of one or more specific amino acids into the final product. Each module can be divided into different domains, each of which is responsible for a specific biochemical reaction. Three types of domains, the adenylation (A), thiolation (T; also referred to as the peptidyl carrier protein, PCP), and condensation (C) domains, are essential for nonribosomal peptide synthesis. The A-domain plays a role in the selection and activation of an amino acid monomer, the T-domain is responsible for transportation of substrates and elongation intermediates to the catalytic centers, and the C-domain catalyzes peptide bond formation. In addition to these core domains, there are the thioesterase domain (TE-domain), the epimerization domain (E-domain), and some other modification domains. Many NRPS gene clusters have been reported, but no polymyxin biosynthetic gene cluster has been reported to date.During whole genome sequencing of Paenibacillus polymyxa E681, a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium, we found a gene cluster encoding polymyxin synthetase. In this study, the complete sequences of the polymyxin synthetase genes and the function of the gene cluster have been identified and analyzed by domain analysis, insertional mutagenesis, and heterologous expression of the genes, as well as by antibacterial assay and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) analysis of the strains and their culture supernatants. The genome information and the heterologous expression of the polymyxin synthetase gene cluster will be useful for further studies of the regulation of pmx genes, their structure-function relationships, and the improvement of polymyxins.     

Gene Cluster Involved in the Biosynthesis of Griseobactin,a Catechol-Peptide Siderophore of Streptomyces sp. ATCC 700974

The main siderophores produced by streptomycetes are desferrioxamines. Here we show that Streptomyces sp. ATCC 700974 and several Streptomyces griseus strains, in addition, synthesize a hitherto unknown siderophore with a catechol-peptide structure, named griseobactin. The production is repressed by iron. We sequenced a 26-kb DNA region comprising a siderophore biosynthetic gene cluster encoding proteins similar to DhbABCEFG, which are involved in the biosynthesis of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate (DHBA) and in the incorporation of DHBA into siderophores via a nonribosomal peptide synthetase. Adjacent to the biosynthesis genes are genes that encode proteins for the secretion, uptake, and degradation of siderophores. To correlate the gene cluster with griseobactin synthesis, the dhb genes in ATCC 700974 were disrupted. The resulting mutants no longer synthesized DHBA and griseobactin; production of both was restored by complementation with the dhb genes. Heterologous expression of the dhb genes or of the entire griseobactin biosynthesis gene cluster in the catechol-negative strain Streptomyces lividans TK23 resulted in the synthesis and secretion of DHBA or griseobactin, respectively, suggesting that these genes are sufficient for DHBA and griseobactin biosynthesis. Griseobactin was purified and characterized; its structure is consistent with a cyclic and, to a lesser extent, linear form of the trimeric ester of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoyl-arginyl-threonine complexed with aluminum under iron-limiting conditions. This is the first report identifying the gene cluster for the biosynthesis of DHBA and a catechol siderophore in Streptomyces.Iron is an essential element for the growth and proliferation of nearly all microorganisms. In the presence of oxygen, the soluble ferrous iron is readily oxidized to its ferric form, which exists predominantly as a highly insoluble hydroxide complex at neutral pH. To overcome iron limitation, many bacteria synthesize and secrete low-molecular-weight, high-affinity ferric iron chelators, called siderophores (38, 53). Following the chelation of Fe³⁺ in the medium, the iron-siderophore complex is actively taken up by its cognate ABC transport system, and Fe³⁺ is subsequently released by reduction to Fe²⁺ and/or by hydrolysis of the siderophore (28, 32, 36). The three main classes of siderophores contain catecholates, hydroxamates, or (α-hydroxy-)carboxylates as iron-coordinating ligands, but mixed siderophores and siderophores containing other functional groups, such as diphenolates, imidazoles, and thiazolines, have also been found (16, 38).Siderophores containing peptide moieties are synthesized by proteins belonging to the nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) family (16, 38). These multimodular enzymes function as enzymatic assembly lines in which the order of the modules usually determines the order of the amino acids incorporated into the peptide (19, 34). Each module contains the complete information for an elongation step combining the catalytic functions for the activation of the amino acid by the adenylation (A) domain, the tethering of the corresponding adenylate to the terminal thiol of the enzyme-bound 4′-phosphopantetheinyl (4′-PP) cofactor by the peptidyl carrier protein (PCP) domain, and the formation of the peptide bond by the condensation (C) domain (26, 34, 52). At the end, the product is released by the C-terminal thioesterase (TE) domain by hydrolysis or by cyclization via intramolecular condensation. Each adenylation domain recognizes a specific amino acid, and its substrate specificity can be predicted by its sequence. An NRPS specificity-conferring code consisting of 10 nonadjacent amino acid residues in the A domain has been proposed (49). Exceptions to the “colinearity-rule” (19) have been discovered. For example, in the biosynthesis of the siderophores enterobactin and bacillibactin, all the modules in the NRPS are used iteratively, and the TE domain stitches the chains together into a cyclic product (35, 45). Enterobactin is the trilactone of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoyl-serine, and bacillibactin is the lactone of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoyl-glycyl-threonine.The typical siderophores produced by streptomycetes are desferrioxamines (24), and the genes encoding the enzymes for their biosynthesis have been identified (5). Recently, structurally different siderophores have been reported to be coproduced with desferrioxamines in some species, e.g., coelichelin in Streptomyces coelicolor (9, 30) and enterobactin in Streptomyces tendae (18). The genes encoding the proteins for the biosynthesis of enterobactin in S. tendae remain unknown.Here we describe the gene cluster for the biosynthesis of a new siderophore, named griseobactin, produced by Streptomyces sp. strain ATCC 700974 and some strains of Streptomyces griseus. By sequencing two cosmids isolated from a Streptomyces sp. strain ATCC 700974 genomic library, we assigned the encoded proteins to enzymes that convert chorismate to 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate (DHBA), and to proteins involved in nonribosomal peptide biosynthesis and in the export, uptake, and utilization of siderophores. Knockout mutagenesis and heterologous expression confirmed the requirement of this gene cluster for the biosynthesis of griseobactin. This is the first report on the identification of the genes responsible for DHBA and catechol siderophore biosynthesis in Streptomyces.     

Combining Ribosomal Engineering with Heterologous Expression of a Regulatory Gene to Improve Milbemycin Production in Streptomyces milbemycinicus A2079

Applied Biochemistry and Microbiology - Milbemycin, a group of 16-membered macrolide antibiotics produced by Streptomyces milbemycinicus, has been widely used as an insecticide and an anthelmintic....     

弗氏链霉菌丝氨酸蛋白酶基因的克隆及表达

从一株具有极强的降解羽毛能力的弗氏链霉菌菌株（Streptomyces fradiae var.k11）中纯化得到了一种丝氨酸蛋白酶SFP2。经蛋白测序,得到部分氨基酸序列,设计简并引物,PCR扩增得到部分基因序列,通过构建基因文库,获得了包括信号肽序列在内的完整的基因sfp2(EMBL收录号AJ784940),开放阅读框全长924bp,包括114bp的信号肽编码序列和810bp的酶原编码序列, 其中成熟蛋白编码基因长576bp,编码191个氨基酸,理论分子量为19.112kD。酶原编码基因和成熟蛋白编码基因均在大肠杆菌和枯草芽孢杆菌中得到了表达,酶原编码基因表达产物具有正常的生物学活性,证明了克隆基因的生物学功能。     

Cloning, Function, and Expression of sanS: A Gene Essential for Nikkomycin Biosynthesis of Streptomyces ansochromogenes

A 2-kb SmaI DNA fragment was cloned from the cosmid library of Streptomyces ansochromogenes. This DNA fragment contains a complete open reading frame which is 1275 bp in length, designated sanS (GenBank accession no. AF322179). The deduced SanS protein consists of 424 amino acids and belongs to a superfamily of enzymes with an unusual ATP-grasp fold. The disruption and complementation of sanS indicated that sanS is essential for nikkomycin biosynthesis in Streptomyces ansochromogenes. The sanS gene was subcloned into expression vector pET23b and overexpressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The protein was then purified and showed ATPase activity.     

Development of a Site-Directed Integration Plasmid for Heterologous Gene Expression in Mycoplasma gallisepticum

Deciphering the molecular basis of the interactions between the parasite Mycoplasma gallisepticum and its avian hosts suffers from the lack of genetic tools available for the pathogen. In the absence of well established methods for targeted disruption of relevant M. gallisepticum genes, we started to develop suicide vectors and equipped them with a short fragment of M. gallisepticum origin or replication (oriC _MG). We failed to create a disruption vector, although by adding a further short fragment of the M. gallisepticum tufB upstream region we created a “Trojan horse” plasmid. This is fully integrated into the genomic DNA of M. gallisepticum, always at the same site, oriC _MG, and is able to carry and express any gene of interest in the genetic background of M. gallisepticum. Successful expression of a heterologous gene was shown with the lacZ gene of E. coli. When used for gene complementation or expression of hybrid genes in M. gallisepticum, a site-specific combined integration/expression vector constitutes an improvement on randomly integrating transposons, which might have unexpected effects on the expression of chromosomal genes.