Producer Streptomyces Sp Research Articles

Partial Activation of a Silent Angucycline-type Gene Cluster from a Rubromycin .BETA. Producing Streptomyces sp. PGA64

In the course of DNA-fingerprinting our strain collection for antibiotic biosynthesis genes, two different type II polyketide synthase (PKS) gene clusters were observed from Streptomyces sp. PGA64. Phylogenetic analysis placed these together with known rubromycin and angucycline biosynthetic gene clusters. The host strain itself has a very clean production profile of secondary metabolites, which composes mainly of rubromycin beta under typical fermentation conditions. Sequencing of a 16.5 kb fragment from the putative angucycline cluster revealed eight genes that were homologous to typical type II PKS genes responsible for synthesizing aromatic polyketides. These genes were especially similar to genes from known angucycline biosynthetic gene clusters and also synteny to these clusters was observed. In addition, three genes were recognized that are needed for priming the minimal PKS complex before polyketide synthesis can initiate, but which are not normally found to cluster with antibiotic biosynthesis genes. A putative repressor gene that was dissimilar to repressor genes found from well-characterized antibiotic biosynthesis gene clusters was also discovered. Gene disruption of the repressor resulted in partial activation of the cluster and production of two angucycline metabolites, UWM6 and rabelomycin. The results confirm that the DNA-fingerprinting method we have developed can be used to correctly detect compounds that are not visible in chemical screens.

Characterization of the hom-thrC-thrB cluster in aminoethoxyvinylglycine-producing Streptomyces sp. NRRL 5331.

Three genes from the aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG)-producing Streptomyces sp. NRRL 5331 involved in threonine biosynthesis, hom, thrB and thrC, encoding homoserine dehydrogenase (HDH), homoserine kinase (HK) and threonine synthase (TS), respectively, have been cloned and sequenced. The hom and thrC genes appear to be organized in a bicistronic operon as deduced by disruption experiments. The thrB gene, however, is transcribed as a monocistronic transcript. The encoded proteins are quite similar to the HDH, HK and TS proteins from other bacterial species. The overall organization of these three genes, in the order hom-thrC-thrB, differs from that in other bacteria and is similar to that reported in the Streptomyces coelicolor genome sequence. This is the first time in which the gene cluster for the three last steps of threonine biosynthesis has been characterized from a streptomycete. Disruption of thrC indicated that threonine is not a direct precursor for AVG biosynthesis in Streptomyces sp. NRRL 5331 and suggested that the branching point of the aspartic acid-derived biosynthetic route of this metabolite should lie earlier on the threonine biosynthetic route.

A glutamic acid producing Streptomyces sp.

Following the bioautographic technique, a strain of Streptomyces sp. has been isolated producing L-glutamic acid. The strain in able to grow and produce glutamate in mineral salt medium, but supplementation with yeast extract improved the yield.