Abstract
Minnesota researchers have cloned and characterized a massive polyketide-antibiotic biosynthetic gene cluster with some unique properties that make it a promising system for use in combinatorial biosynthesis. The work has potential applicability to the development of new antibiotics effective against drug-resistant bacteria. Polyketides are macrocyclic (largering) natural products that have been a prolific source of therapeutic drugs, such as erythromycin (C&EN, March 9, page 29). Combinatorial biosynthesis is a set of techniques in which the genes of host microorganisms are manipulated to produce libraries (collections) of natural products that can be tested for biological activity (C&EN, Sept. 14, page 29). Several groups currently are trying to use combinatorial biosynthesis and polyketide gene systems as a route to the discovery of novel biologically active agents. The new study focused on a 60-kilobase polyketide-antibiotic gene cluster in the bacterium Streptomyces venezuelae . It was a collaborativ...
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