Enhanced production of avermectin by deletion of type III polyketide synthases biosynthetic cluster rpp in Streptomyces avermitilis.

Abstract

Because of the wide use of avermectins, many efforts have been made to improve the productivity via conventional genetic engineering technique. However, due to the lack of the molecular and genetic basis underlying such a yield enhancement after iterative rounds of mutagenesis and selection, it is often difficult to improve the titre in overproducers. Here, we report knocking out rpp biosynthetic gene cluster improved the production of an industrial overproducer by 24%. This work enriched the strategy to improve the production of antibiotics in industrial strains and may help further understanding of the interaction between type III polyketide synthases and other types.