Deletion of scbA enhances antibiotic production in Streptomyces lividans

Antibiotic production in many streptomycetes is influenced by extracellular gamma-butyrolactone signalling molecules. In this study, the gene scbA, which had been shown previously to be involved in the synthesis of the gamma-butyrolactone SCB1 in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2), was deleted from the chromosome of Streptomyces lividans 66. Deletion of scbA eliminated the production of the antibiotic stimulatory activity previously associated with SCB1 in S. coelicolor. When the S. lividans scbA mutant was transformed with a multi-copy plasmid carrying the gene encoding the pathway-specific activator for either actinorhodin or undecylprodigiosin biosynthesis, production of the corresponding antibiotic was elevated significantly compared to the corresponding scbA(+) strain carrying the same plasmid. Consequently, deletion of scbA may be useful in combination with other strategies to construct host strains capable of improved bioactive metabolite production.     

Characterization of a new ScbR-like γ-butyrolactone binding regulator (SlbR) in Streptomyces coelicolor

γ-Butyrolactones in Streptomyces are well recognized as bacterial hormones, and they affect secondary metabolism of Streptomyces. γ-Butyrolactone receptors are considered important regulatory proteins, and various γ-butyrolactone synthases and receptors have been reported in Streptomyces. Here, we characterized a new regulator, SCO0608, that interacted with SCB1 (γ-butyrolactone of Streptomyces coelicolor) and bound to the scbR/A and adpA promoters. The SCO0608 protein sequences are not similar to those of any known γ-butyrolactone binding proteins in Streptomyces such as ScbR from S. coelicolor or ArpA from Streptomyces griseus. Interestingly, SCO0608 functions as a repressor of antibiotic biosynthesis and spore formation in R5 complex media. We showed the existence of another type of γ-butyrolactone receptor in Streptomyces, and this SCO0608 was named ScbR-like γ-butyrolactone binding regulator (SlbR) in S. coelicolor.     

A bistable gene switch for antibiotic biosynthesis: the butyrolactone regulon in Streptomyces coelicolor

Many microorganisms, including bacteria of the class Streptomycetes, produce various secondary metabolites including antibiotics to gain a competitive advantage in their natural habitat. The production of these compounds is highly coordinated in a population to expedite accumulation to an effective concentration. Furthermore, as antibiotics are often toxic even to their producers, a coordinated production allows microbes to first arm themselves with a defense mechanism to resist their own antibiotics before production commences. One possible mechanism of coordination among individuals is through the production of signaling molecules. The gamma-butyrolactone system in Streptomyces coelicolor is a model of such a signaling system for secondary metabolite production. The accumulation of these signaling molecules triggers antibiotic production in the population. A pair of repressor-amplifier proteins encoded by scbA and scbR mediates the production and action of one particular gamma-butyrolactone, SCB1. Based on the proposed interactions of scbA and scbR, a mathematical model was constructed and used to explore the ability of this system to act as a robust genetic switch. Stability analysis shows that the butyrolactone system exhibits bistability and, in response to a threshold SCB1 concentration, can switch from an OFF state to an ON state corresponding to the activation of genes in the cryptic type I polyketide synthase gene cluster, which are responsible for production of the hypothetical polyketide. The switching time is inversely related to the inducer concentration above the threshold, such that short pulses of low inducer concentration cannot switch on the system, suggesting its possible role in noise filtering. In contrast, secondary metabolite production can be triggered rapidly in a population of cells producing the butyrolactone signal due to the presence of an amplification loop in the system. S. coelicolor was perturbed experimentally by varying concentrations of SCB1, and the model simulations match the experimental data well. Deciphering the complexity of this butyrolactone switch will provide valuable insights into how robust and efficient systems can be designed using "simple" two-protein networks.     

Genetic analysis of A-factor synthesis in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) and Streptomyces griseus

A-factor is a potent pleiotropic effector produced by Streptomyces griseus and is essential for streptomycin production and spore formation in this organism. Its production is widely distributed among various actinomycetes including Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). Genetic analysis of A-factor production was carried out with S. coelicolor A3(2), and two closely linked loci for A-factor mutations (afsA and B) were identified between cysD and leuB on the chromosomal linkage map. In contrast, genetic crosses of A-factor-negative mutants of S. griseus, using a protoplast fusion technique, failed to give a fixed locus for A-factor gene(s) and suggested involvement of an extrachromosomal or transposable genetic element in A-factor synthesis in this organism.     

Pleiotropic functions of a Streptomyces pristinaespiralis autoregulator receptor in development, antibiotic biosynthesis, and expression of a superoxide dismutase

In Streptomyces, a family of related butyrolactones and their corresponding receptor proteins serve as quorum-sensing systems that can activate morphological development and antibiotic biosynthesis. Streptomyces pristinaespiralis contains a gene cluster encoding enzymes and regulatory proteins for the biosynthesis of pristinamycin, a clinically important streptogramin antibiotic complex. One of these proteins, PapR1, belongs to a well known family of Streptomyces antibiotic regulatory proteins. Gel shift assays using crude cytoplasmic extracts detected SpbR, a developmentally regulated protein that bound to the papR1 promoter. SpbR was purified, and its gene was cloned using reverse genetics. spbR encoded a 25-kDa protein similar to Streptomyces autoregulatory proteins of the butyrolactone receptor family, including scbR from Streptomyces coelicolor. In Escherichia coli, purified SpbR and ScbR produced bound sequences immediately upstream of papR1, spbR, and scbR. SpbR DNA-binding activity was inhibited by an extracellular metabolite with chromatographic properties similar to those of the well known gamma-butyrolactone signaling compounds. DNase I protection assays mapped the SpbR-binding site in the papR1 promoter to a sequence homologous to other known butyrolactone autoregulatory elements. A nucleotide data base search showed that these binding motifs were primarily located upstream of genes encoding Streptomyces antibiotic regulatory proteins and butyrolactone receptors in various Streptomyces species. Disruption of the spbR gene in S. pristinaespiralis resulted in severe defects in growth, morphological differentiation, pristinamycin biosynthesis, and expression of a secreted superoxide dismutase.     

The secreted signaling protein factor C triggers the A-factor response regulon in Streptomyces griseus: overlapping signaling routes

Members of the prokaryotic genus Streptomyces produce over 60% of all known antibiotics and a wide range of industrial enzymes. A leading theme in microbiology is which signals are received and transmitted by these organisms to trigger the onset of morphological differentiation and antibiotic production. The small gamma-butyrolactone A-factor is an important autoregulatory signaling molecule in streptomycetes, and A-factor mutants are blocked in development and antibiotic production. In this study we showed that heterologous expression of the 324-amino acid secreted regulatory protein Factor C resulted in restoration of development and enhanced antibiotic production of an A-factor-deficient bald mutant of Streptomyces griseus, although the parental strain lacks an facC gene. Proteome analysis showed that in the facC transformant the production of several secreted proteins that belong to the A-factor regulon was restored. HPLC-MS/MS analysis indicated that this was due to restoration of A-factor production to wild-type levels in the transformant. This indicates a connection between two highly divergent types of signaling molecules and possible interplay between their regulatory networks.     

Purification and structural determination of SCB1, a gamma-butyrolactone that elicits antibiotic production in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

Early stationary phase culture supernatants of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) contained at least four small diffusible signaling molecules that could elicit precocious antibiotic synthesis in the producing strain. The compounds were not detected in exponentially growing cultures. One of these compounds, SCB1, was purified to homogeneity and shown to be a gamma-butyrolactone of structure (2R, 3R,1'R)-2-(1'-hydroxy-6-methylheptyl)-3-hydroxymethylbutanolide . Bioassays of chemically synthesized SCB1, and of its purified stereoisomers, suggest that SCB1 acts in a highly specific manner to elicit the production of both actinorhodin and undecylprodigiosin, the two pigmented antibiotics made by S. coelicolor.     

Crystal structure of a gamma-butyrolactone autoregulator receptor protein in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

The gamma-butyrolactone-type autoregulator/receptor systems in the Gram-positive bacterial genus Streptomyces regulate morphological differentiation or antibiotic production, or both. The autoregulator receptors act as DNA-binding proteins, and on binding their cognate ligands (gamma-butyrolactones) they are released from the DNA, thus serving as repressors. The crystal structure of CprB in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2), a homologue of the A-factor-receptor protein, ArpA, in Streptomyces griseus, was determined. The overall structure of CprB shows that the gamma-butyrolactone receptors belong to the TetR family. CprB is composed of two domains, a DNA-binding domain and a regulatory domain. The regulatory domain contains a hydrophobic cavity, which probably serves as a ligand-binding pocket. On the basis of the crystal structure of CprB and on the analogy of the characteristics of ligand-TetR binding, the binding of gamma-butyrolactones to the regulatory domain of the receptors is supposed to induce the relocation of the DNA-binding domain through conformational changes of residues located between the ligand-binding site and the DNA-binding domain, which would result in the dissociation of the receptors from their target DNA.     

Detection and properties of A-factor-binding protein from Streptomyces griseus.

The optically active form of tritium-labeled A-factor (2-isocapryloyl-3R-hydroxymethyl-gamma-butyrolactone), a pleiotropic autoregulator responsible for streptomycin production, streptomycin resistance, and sporulation in Streptomyces griseus, was chemically synthesized. By using the radioactive A-factor, a binding protein for A-factor was detected in the cytoplasmic fraction of this organism. The binding protein had an apparent molecular weight of approximately 26,000, as determined by gel filtration. Scatchard analysis suggested that A-factor bound the protein in the molar ratio of 1:1 with a binding constant, Kd, of 0.7 nM. The number of the binding protein was roughly estimated to be 37 per genome. The "inducing material" virginiae butanolide C (VB-C), which has a structure very similar to that of A-factor and is essential for virginiamycin production in Streptomyces virginiae, did not inhibit binding. In addition, no protein capable of specifically binding 3H-labeled VB-C was found in S. griseus. Together with the observation that VB-C had almost no biological activity on the restoration of streptomycin production or sporulation in an A-factor-deficient mutant of S. griseus, these results indicated that the binding protein had a strict ligand specificity. Examination for an A-factor-binding protein in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) and Streptomyces lividans showed the absence of any specifically binding protein.     

Cloning and characterization of a gene involved in aerial mycelium formation in Streptomyces griseus.

A-factor (2-isocapryloyl-3R-hydroxymethyl-gamma-butyrolactone) is essentially required for aerial mycelium formation and streptomycin production in Streptomyces griseus. A DNA fragment which induced aerial mycelium formation and sporulation in an A-factor-deficient mutant strain, S. griseus HH1, was cloned from this strain on a high-copy-number plasmid. Subcloning and nucleotide sequencing revealed that one open reading frame with 218 amino acids, named AmfC, served as a multicopy suppressor of the aerial mycelium-defective phenotype of the A-factor-deficient strain. The amfC gene did not restore A-factor or streptomycin production, indicating that amfC is involved in aerial mycelium formation independently of secondary metabolic function. Disruption of the chromosomal amfC gene in the wild-type S. griseus strain caused a severe reduction in the abundance of spores but no effect on the shape or size of the spores. The infrequent sporulation of the amfC disruptant was reversed by introduction of amfC on a plasmid. The amfC-defective phenotype was also restored by the orf1590 gene but not by the amfR-amfA-amfB gene cluster. Nucleotide sequences homologous to the amfC gene were distributed in all of 12 Streptomyces species tested, including Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). The amfC homolog of S. coelicolor A3(2) was cloned and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The AmfC products of S. griseus and S. coelicolor A3(2) showed a 60% identity in their amino acid sequences. Introduction of the amfC gene of S. coelicolor A3(2) into strain HH1 induced aerial mycelium formation and sporulation, which suggests that both play the same functional role in morphogenesis in the strains.     

Cloning of a pleiotropic gene that positively controls biosynthesis of A-factor, actinorhodin, and prodigiosin in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) and Streptomyces lividans.

A-factor (2S-isocapryloyl-3S-hydroxymethyl-gamma-butyrolactone), an autoregulating factor originally found in Streptomyces griseus, is involved in streptomycin biosynthesis and cell differentiation in this organism. A-factor production is widely distributed among actinomycetes, including Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) and Streptomyces lividans. A chromosomal pleiotropic regulatory gene of S. coelicolor A3(2) controlling biosynthesis of A-factor and red pigments was cloned with a spontaneous A-factor-deficient strain of S. lividans HH21 and plasmid pIJ41 as a host-vector system. The restriction endonuclease KpnI-digested chromosomal fragments were ligated into the plasmid vector and introduced by transformation into the protoplasts of strain HH21. Three red transformants thus selected were found to produce A-factor and to carry a plasmid with the same molecular weight, and a 6.4-megadalton fragment was inserted in the KpnI site of pIJ41. By restriction endonuclease mapping and subcloning, a restriction fragment (1.2 megadaltons, approximately 2,000 base pairs) bearing the gene which causes concomitant production of A-factor and red pigments was determined. The red pigments were identified by thin-layer chromatography and spectroscopy to be actinorhodin and prodigiosin, both of which are the antibiotics produced by S. coelicolor A3(2). The cloned fragment was introduced into the A-factor-negative mutants (afs) of S. coelicolor A3(2) by using pIJ702 as the vector, where it complemented one of these mutations, afsB, characterized by simultaneous loss of A-factor and red pigment production. We conclude that the cloned gene pleiotropically and positively controls the biosynthesis of A-factor, actinorhodin, and prodigiosin.