Cloning and characterization of a polyketide synthase gene from Streptomyces fradiae Tü2717, which carries the genes for biosynthesis of the angucycline antibiotic urdamycin A and a gene probably involved in its oxygenation.

A DNA fragment was cloned as cosmid purd8, which encodes a polyketide synthase involved in the production of the angucycline antibiotic urdamycin from Streptomyces fradiae Tü2717. Deletion of the polyketide synthase genes from the chromosome abolished urdamycin production. In addition, purd8 conferred urdamycin resistance on introduction into Streptomyces lividans TK24. Sequence analysis of 5.7 kb of purd8 revealed six open reading frames transcribed in the same direction. The deduced amino acid sequences of the six open reading frames strongly resemble proteins from known type II polyketide synthase gene clusters: a ketoacyl synthase, a chain length factor, an acyl carrier protein, a ketoreductase, a cyclase, and an oxygenase. Heterologous expression of the urdamycin genes encoding a ketoacyl synthase and a chain length factor in Streptomyces glaucescens tetracenomycin C-nonproducing mutants impaired in either the TcmK ketoacyl synthase or TcmL chain length factor resulted in the production of tetracenomycin C. Heterologous expression of a putative oxygenase gene from the urdamycin gene cluster in S. glaucescens GLA.O caused production of the hybrid antibiotic 6-hydroxy tetracenomycin C.     

Cloning, analysis, and overexpression of the gene encoding isobutylamine N-hydroxylase from the valanimycin producer, Streptomyces viridifaciens.

The flavoprotein isobutylamine N-hydroxylase (IBAH) catalyzes the oxidation of isobutylamine to isobutylhydroxylamine, a key step in the biosynthesis of the azoxy antibiotic valanimycin. By using oligonucleotide primers designed from peptide sequence information derived from native IBAH, a fragment of the gene (vlmH) encoding IBAH was amplified by PCR from a genomic library of the valanimycin-producing organism, Streptomyces viridifaciens MG456-hF10. The gene fragment was then employed as a probe to clone the entire vlmH gene from an S. viridifaciens genomic library. Overexpression of the vlmH gene in Escherichia coli gave a soluble protein that was purified to homogeneity. The purified protein exhibited the catalytic activity expected for IBAH. The deduced amino acid sequence of IBAH exhibited the greatest similarity to the Sox/DszC protein from Rhodococcus sp. strain IGT38, a flavoprotein involved in the oxidation of dibenzothiophene to the corresponding sulfone. Significant similarities were also found between the amino acid sequence of IBAH and those of the acyl coenzyme A dehydrogenases.     

Cloning and heterologous expression of the entire set of structural genes for nikkomycin synthesis from Streptomyces tendae Tü901 in Streptomyces lividans.

A genomic library from Streptomyces tendae raised in shuttle cosmid vector pKC505 was screened with a previously isolated 8-kb DNA fragment containing the orfP1 gene, which is involved in nikkomycin biosynthesis. The entire set of structural genes for nikkomycin synthesis was heterologously expressed in S. lividans TK23 by introducing recombinant cosmids p24/32 and p9/43-2, carrying inserts of about 31 and 27 kb, respectively, overlapping by 15 kb. S. lividans transformants synthesized nikkomycins X, Z, I, and J, which were identified by high-pressure liquid chromatography analyses of culture filtrates.     

Production of aminoglycosides in non-aminoglycoside producing Streptomyces lividans TK24

The pRBM4 cosmid, which harbors a putative cluster of genes spanning a 31.8-kb chromosomal region of the ribostamycin producer Streptomyces ribosidificus ATCC 21294, was heterologously expressed in Streptomyces lividans TK24. ESI-MS/MS, HPLC, and LC-ESI MS analyses showed that the transformation gave rise to ribostamycin production in various culture broths. This is the first report of heterologous aminoglycoside production.     

Biochemical characterization of VlmL, a Seryl-tRNA synthetase encoded by the valanimycin biosynthetic gene cluster

Previous studies have shown that the valanimycin producer Streptomyces viridifaciens contains two genes encoding proteins that are similar to seryl-tRNA synthetases (SerRSs). One of these proteins (SvsR) is presumed to function in protein biosynthesis, because it exhibits a high degree of similarity to the single SerRS of Streptomyces coelicolor. The second protein (VlmL), which exhibits a low similarity to the S. coelicolor SerRS, is hypothesized to play a role in valanimycin biosynthesis, because the vlmL gene resides within the valanimycin biosynthetic gene cluster. To investigate the role of VlmL in valanimycin biosynthesis, VlmL and SvsR have been overproduced in soluble form in Escherichia coli, and the biochemical properties of both proteins have been analyzed and compared. Both proteins were found to catalyze a serine-dependent exchange of 32P-labeled pyrophosphate into ATP and to aminoacylate total E. coli tRNA with L-serine. Kinetic parameters for the two enzymes show that SvsR is catalytically more efficient than VlmL. The results of these experiments suggest that the role of VlmL in valanimycin biosynthesis is to produce seryl-tRNA, which is then utilized for a subsequent step in the biosynthetic pathway. Orthologs of VlmL were identified in two other actinomycetes species that also contain orthologs of the S. coelicolor SerRS. The significance of these findings is herein discussed.     

Cloning and expression of a lignin peroxidase gene from Streptomyces viridosporus in Streptomyces lividans.

A lignin peroxidase gene was cloned from Streptomyces viridosporus T7A into Streptomyces lividans TK64 in plasmid pIJ702. BglII-digested genomic DNA (4-10 kb) of S. viridosporus was shotgun-cloned into S. lividans after insertion into the melanin (mel+) gene of pIJ702. Transformants expressing pIJ702 with insert DNA were selected based upon the appearance of thiostrepton resistant (tsrr)/mel-colonies on regeneration medium. Lignin peroxidase-expressing clones were isolated from this population by screening of transformants on a tsr-poly B-411 dye agar medium. In the presence of H2O2 excreted by S. lividans, colonies of lignin peroxidase-expressing clones decolorized the dye. Among 1000 transformants screened, 2 dye-decolorizing clones were found. One, pIJ702/TK64.1 (TK64.1), was further characterized. TK64.1 expressed significant extracellular 2,4-dichlorophenol (2.4-DCP) peroxidase activity (= assay for S. viridosporus lignin peroxidase). Under the cultural conditions employed, plasmidless S. lividans TK64 had a low background level of 2.4-DCP oxidizing activity. TK64.1 excreted an extracellular peroxidase not observed in S. lividans TK64, but similar to S. viridosporus lignin peroxidase ALip-P3, as shown by activity stain assays on nondenaturing polyacrylamide gels. The gene was located on a 4 kb fragment of S. viridosporus genomic DNA. When peroxidase-encoding plasmid, pIJ702.LP, was purified and used to transform three different S. lividans strains (TK64, TK23, TK24), all transformants tested decolorized poly B-411. When grown on lignocellulose in solid state processes, genetically engineered S. lividans TK64.1 degraded the lignocellulose slightly better than did S. lividans TK64. This is the first report of the cloning of a bacterial gene coding for a lignin-degrading enzyme.     

Molecular cloning and sequencing of a non-haem bromoperoxidase gene from Streptomyces aureofaciens ATCC 10762.

A bromoperoxidase gene (bpoT), recently cloned from Streptomyces aureofaciens Tü24, was used as a probe in Southern blot hybridization of total DNA from S. aureofaciens ATCC 10762. A single SstI fragment of 5.4 kb was detected, which was cloned via an enriched gene library into Escherichia coli. The functional bromoperoxidase gene was located on a 2.1 kb BamHI-HindIII fragment by subcloning into S. lividans TK64, using the multicopy plasmid pIJ486. The enzyme was overproduced in S. lividans TK64 (up to 30,000 times compared to S. aureofaciens ATCC 10762) and showed the same electrophoretic and immunological properties as the bromoperoxidase BPO-A2 purified from S. aureofaciens ATCC 10762. DNA sequence analysis revealed an open reading frame encoding a predicted polypeptide with the same M(r) and N-terminal amino acid sequence as the purified subunit of BPO-A2.     

Molecular cloning and high-level expression of a bromoperoxidase gene from Streptomyces aureofaciens Tü24.

A bromoperoxidase gene was cloned from Streptomyces aureofaciens Tü24 into Streptomyces lividans TK64 by using the promoter-probe vector pIJ486. Subcloning of DNA from the original, unstable clone allowed the gene to be localized to a 1.7-kilobase (kb) fragment of DNA. Southern blotting showed that the cloned 1.7-kb insert hybridized to a 4.3-kb fragment in an SstI digest of S. aureofaciens Tü24 total DNA. The 1.7-kb insert was shown to code for a protein with the electrophoretic properties of the subunits of the nonheme bromoperoxidase isolated from S. aureofaciens Tü24. The protein produced by S. lividans TK64 transformed with pHM621, which contained an 8.0-kb insert, was shown to be identical to the S. aureofaciens Tü24 bromoperoxidase in terms of its electrophoretic mobility on denaturing and nondenaturing polyacrylamide gels and its NH2-terminal amino acid sequence. The bromoperoxidase was overproduced (up to 180 times) by S. lividans TK64 containing pHM621. Based on the heat stability of the S. aureofaciens Tü24 bromoperoxidase, a new and simple purification procedure with very high yields was developed.     

Cloning and expression of a gene from Streptomyces scabies encoding a putative pathogenicity factor.

We cloned a 9.4-kb DNA fragment from Streptomyces scabies ATCC 41973 that allows the nonpathogen Streptomyces lividans 66 TK24 to necrotize and colonize potato tuber slices and produce scab-like symptoms on potato minitubers. Deletion analysis demonstrated that activity was conferred by a 1.6-kb DNA region. Sequence analysis of a 2.4-kb DNA fragment spanning the DNA region necessary for activity revealed three open reading frames (ORFs). The deduced amino acid sequence of ORF1, designated ORFtnp, showed high levels of identity with the first 233 amino acids of the putative transposases of the IS1164 elements from Rhodococcus rhodochrous (71%) and Mycobacterium bovis (68%), members of the Staphylococcus aureus IS256 family of transposases. No significant homologies to ORF2 and ORF3 were found in the nucleic acid and protein databases. ORFtnp is located 5' of ORF3. ORF2 is incomplete and is located 3' of ORF3. Subcloning of the individual ORFs demonstrated that ORF3, designated nec1, is sufficient for necrotizing activity in S. lividans 66 TK24. S. lividans 66 TK24 expressing nec1 does not produce thaxtomin A but produces an unidentified extracellular water-soluble compound that causes necrosis on potato tuber discs. The G+C content of nec1 suggests that it has moved horizontally from another genus. Southern analysis of ORFtnp and nec1 demonstrate that these genes are physically linked in Streptomyces strains, including S. scabies and Streptomyces acidiscabies strains, that are pathogenic on potato and that produce the phytotoxin thaxtomin A. These data suggest that nec1 may have been mobilized into S. scabies through a transposition event mediated by ORFtnp.     

Cloning and amplified expression in Streptomyces lividans of the gene encoding the extracellular beta-lactamase from Streptomyces cacaoi

A 19 kb SphI DNA fragment containing the gene for the extracellular active-site serine beta-lactamase of Streptomyces cacaoi KCC-SO352 was cloned in Streptomyces lividans TK24 using the high-copy-number plasmid pIJ702 as vector. A 30-fold higher yield of beta-lactamase was obtained from S. lividans strain ML1, carrying the recombinant plasmid pDML51, than from S. cacaoi grown under optimal production conditions. In all respects (molecular mass, isoelectric point, kinetics of inhibition by beta-iodopenicillanate) the overproduced S. lividans ML1 beta-lactamase was identical to the original S. cacaoi enzyme. A considerable reduction of beta-lactamase production was caused by elimination of a 12.8 kb portion of the 19 kb DNA fragment by cleavage at an internal SphI site located more than 3 kb upstream of the beta-lactamase structural gene. The beta-lactamase gene was located within a 1.8 NcoI-BclI fragment but when this fragment was cloned in S. lividans pIJ702, the resulting strain produced hardly any more beta-lactamase than the original S. cacaoi.     

Chloroperoxidase from Streptomyces lividans: isolation and characterization of the enzyme and the corresponding gene.

For the first time, a halogenating enzyme which is not known to produce halogenated metabolites has been isolated from a bacterial strain. The gene encoding the nonheme chloroperoxidase (CPO-L) from Streptomyces lividans TK64 was cloned, and its gene product was characterized. S. lividans TK64 produced only very small amounts of the enzyme. After cloning of the gene into Streptomyces aureofaciens Tü24-88, the enzyme was overexpressed up to 3,000-fold. Based on the overexpression, a simple purification procedure using acid precipitation and hydrophobic interaction chromatography was developed. Thus, 54 mg of homogeneous CPO-L could be obtained from 27 g (wet weight) of mycelium. The native enzyme has a molecular weight of 64,000 and consists of two identical subunits. The enzyme does not exhibit an absorption peak in the Soret region of the optical spectrum. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that the enzyme does not contain any metal ions in equimolar amounts. CPO-L showed cross-reaction with antibodies raised against the nonheme chloroperoxidase from Pseudomonas pyrrocinia but not with antibodies raised against CPO-T from S. aureofaciens Tü24. CPO-L exhibits substrate specificity only for chlorination, not for bromination. Therefore, monochlorodimedone is only brominated by CPO-L, whereas indole is brominated and chlorinated. The functional chloroperoxidase gene was located on a 1.9-kb SalI DNA fragment. DNA sequence analysis revealed an open reading frame encoding a predicted polypeptide of 276 amino acids. The overall identity of the amino acid sequence to that of chloroperoxidase from P. pyrrocinia was 71%, whereas that to bromoperoxidase BPO-A2 from S. aureofaciens ATCC 10762 was only 42%.     

A gene encoding lysine 6-aminotransferase, which forms the beta-lactam precursor alpha-aminoadipic acid, is located in the cluster of cephamycin biosynthetic genes in Nocardia lactamdurans.

A gene (lat) encoding lysine 6-aminotransferase was found upstream of the pcbAB (encoding alpha-aminoadipylcysteinyl-valine synthetase) and pcbC (encoding isopenicillin N synthase) genes in the cluster of early cephamycin biosynthetic genes in Nocardia lactamdurans. The lat gene was separated by a small intergenic region of 64 bp from the 5' end of the pcbAB gene. The lat gene contained an open reading frame of 1,353 nucleotides (71.4% G + C) encoding a protein of 450 amino acids with a deduced molecular mass of 48,811 Da. Expression of DNA fragments carrying the lat gene in Streptomyces lividans led to a high lysine 6-aminotransferase activity which was absent from untransformed S. lividans. The enzyme was partially purified from S. lividans(pULBS8) and showed a molecular mass of 52,800 Da as calculated by Sephadex gel filtration and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. DNA sequences which hybridized strongly with the lat gene of N. lactamdurans were found in four cephamycin-producing Streptomyces species but not in four other actinomycetes which are not known to produce beta-lactams, suggesting that the gene is specific for beta-lactam biosynthesis and is not involved in general lysine catabolism. The protein encoded by the lat gene showed similarity to ornithine-5-aminotransferases and N-acetylornithine-5-aminotransferases and contained a pyridoxal phosphate-binding consensus amino acid sequence around Lys-300 of the protein. The evolutionary implications of the lat gene as a true beta-lactam biosynthetic gene are discussed.     

Biotransformation of milbemycin D to milemycin G by Streptomyces lividans conferring avermectin O-methyltransferase activity

Avermectin O-methyltransferase gene was cloned from a cosmid clone covering the first module of polyketide synthase gene cluster of avermectin biosynthesis. Streptomyces lividans transformed with a DNA fragment containing avermectin O-methyltransferase gene efficiently convert milbemycin D to milbemycin G, indicating that biosynthetic genes of milbemycin and avermectin might complement each other. © Rapid Science Ltd. 1998     

Cloning of metK from Actinoplanes teichomyceticus ATCC31121 and effect of its high expression on antibiotic production

A metK gene encoding S-adenosyl-L-methionine synthetase was cloned from the non-Streptomyces actinomycetes, Actinoplanes teichomyceticus ATCC31121. In order to evaluate the effect of the metK expression on antibiotic production in actinomycetes, an expression vector harboring the metK gene was constructed and introduced into Streptomyces lividans TK24 and A. teichomyceticus, and the antibiotic production of the exconjugants was assessed. As a result, it was determined that the expression of metK induced 17-fold and 2.2-fold increases in actinorhodin production from S. lividans TK24 and teicoplanin production from A. teichomyceticus, respectively, compared with the control strains.     

Cloning of a thermostable alpha-amylase gene from Thermomonospora curvata and its expression in Streptomyces lividans

The gene from Thermomonospora curvata CCM 3312 coding for thermostable alpha-amylase (tam) has been cloned in Streptomyces lividans TK 24 and localized to a 2.6 kb HindIII-BamHI fragment of DNA. The data presented here show that the tam gene is expressed at a high level in S. lividans and that the protein is efficiently excreted.     

Cloning and analysis of a gene cluster from Streptomyces coelicolor that causes accelerated aerial mycelium formation in Streptomyces lividans.

We describe the cloning and analysis of two overlapping DNA fragments from Streptomyces coelicolor that cause aerial mycelium to appear more rapidly than usual when introduced into Streptomyces lividans on a low-copy-number plasmid vector. Colonies of S. lividans TK64 harboring either clone produce visible aerial mycelia after only 48 h of growth, rather than the usual 72 to 96 h. From deletion and sequence analysis, this rapid aerial mycelium (Ram) phenotype appears to be due to a cluster of three genes that we have designated ramA, ramB, and ramR. Both ramA and ramB potentially encode 65-kDa proteins with homology to ATP-dependent membrane-translocating proteins. A chromosomal ramB disruption mutant of S. lividans was found to be severely defective in aerial mycelium formation. ramR could encode a 21-kDa protein with significant homology to the UhpA subset of bacterial two-component response regulator proteins. The overall organization and potential proteins encoded by the cloned DNA suggest that this is the S. coelicolor homolog of the amf gene cluster that has been shown to be important for aerial mycelium formation in Streptomyces griseus. However, despite the fact that the two regions probably have identical functions, there is relatively poor homology between the two gene clusters at the DNA sequence level.     

Molecular cloning of tylosin-producing Streptomyces fradiae B-45 genes determining increased inducible resistance to tylosin in Streptomyces lividans TK64

DNA of S. fradiae B-45 partially cleaved by Sau3A restrictase was cloned in S. lividans TK64 in the plasmid vector pIJ702. Three recombinant plasmids pVG251, pVG262, and pVG253 with tlr1, tlr2 and tlr3 genes were isolated from the transformed clones of S. lividans TK64 with higher inducible resistance to tylosin as compared to the plasmid-free strain. DNA-DNA blot hybridization was performed between the total DNA cleaved by several restrictases from S. fradiae B-45 and some other strains and the DNA probes containing the tlr genes. It was shown that tlr1 and tlr3 genes were unique in S. fradiae B-45. Sequences homologous to tlr2 gene were present both in DNA of S. fradiae B-45 in 7 copies and in strains of S. antibiotics and S. hygroscopicus producing respectively oleandomycin and turimycin.