Genome Engineering Approaches to Improve Nosokomycin A Production by Streptomyces ghanaensis B38.3

Analysis of the cryptic biosynthetic gene cluster encoding the RiPP curacozole reveals a phenylalanine-specific peptide hydroxylase

Curacozole is representative of a cyanobactin-like sub-family of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs). The molecule is distinguished by its small macrocyclic structure, a poly-azole sequence that includes a phenyloxazole moiety, and a d-allo-Ile residue. The enzymatic steps required for its formation are not well understood. The predicted biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) for curacozole in Streptomyces curacoi is cryptic, but is shown to be potently activated upon constitutive expression of the bldA-specified Leu-tRNA(UUA) molecule. Heterologous expression and gene deletion studies have defined the minimum BGC as consisting of seven genes, czlA, D, E, B1, C1, F, and BC. The biosynthetic pathway is highly substrate tolerant, accepting six variants of the precursor peptide CzlA to form new curacozole derivatives. This includes replacing the phenyloxazole moiety of curacozole with indole and p-hydroxyphenyloxazole groups by conversion of the corresponding CzlA Phe18Trp and Phe18Tyr variants. In vitro experiments with purified enzymes demonstrate that CzlD and CzlBC perform cyclodehydration and dehydrogenation reactions, respectively, to form a single oxazole from Ser 22 of CzlA. The curacozole BGC is flanked by czlI, a non-essential but conserved gene of unknown function. In vitro studies demonstrate CzlI to be a non-heme iron(ii) and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase, catalyzing the hydroxylation of Phe18 on CzlA to form the CzlA Phe18Tyr variant, which is then processed to form the p-hydroxyphenyloxazole derivative of curacozole. Overall, this work highlights the amenability of RiPP biosynthesis for engineering the production of new compounds and adds to the repertoire of known RiPP enzymes.

Structural diversity, bioactivity, and biosynthesis of phosphoglycolipid family antibiotics: recent advances

Moenomycins, such as moenomycin A, are phosphoglycolipid specialized metabolites produced by a number of actinobacterial species. They are among the most potent antibacterial compounds known to date, which drew numerous studies directed at various aspects of the chemistry and biology of moenomycins. In this review, we outline the advances in moenomycin research over the last decade. We focus on biological aspects, highlighting the contribution of the novel methods of genomics and molecular biology to the deciphering of the biosynthesis and activity of moenomycins. Specifically, we describe the structural diversity of moenomycins as well as the underlying genomic variations in moenomycin biosynthetic gene clusters. We also describe the most recent data on the mechanism of action and assembly of complicated phosphoglycolipid scaffold. We conclude with the description of the genetic control of moenomycin production by Streptomyces bacteria and a brief outlook on future developments.

Genetic Engineering of Streptomyces ghanaensis ATCC14672 for Improved Production of Moenomycins

Streptomycetes are soil-dwelling multicellular microorganisms famous for their unprecedented ability to synthesize numerous bioactive natural products (NPs). In addition to their rich arsenal of secondary metabolites, Streptomyces are characterized by complex morphological differentiation. Mostly, industrial production of NPs is done by submerged fermentation, where streptomycetes grow as a vegetative mycelium forming pellets. Often, suboptimal growth peculiarities are the major bottleneck for industrial exploitation. In this work, we employed genetic engineering approaches to improve the production of moenomycins (Mm) in Streptomyces ghanaensis, the only known natural direct inhibitors of bacterial peptidoglycan glycosyltransferses. We showed that in vivo elimination of binding sites for the pleiotropic regulator AdpA in the oriC region strongly influences growth and positively correlates with Mm accumulation. Additionally, a marker- and “scar”-less deletion of moeH5, encoding an amidotransferase from the Mm gene cluster, significantly narrows down the Mm production spectrum. Strikingly, antibiotic titers were strongly enhanced by the elimination of the pleiotropic regulatory gene wblA, involved in the late steps of morphogenesis. Altogether, we generated Mm overproducers with optimized growth parameters, which are useful for further genome engineering and chemoenzymatic generation of novel Mm derivatives. Analogously, such a scheme can be applied to other Streptomyces spp.