Characterization of Constitutive Promoters for the Elicitation of Secondary Metabolites in Myxobacteria

Genome mining has revealed that myxobacteria contain a myriad of cryptic biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). Here, we report the characterization of a panel of myxobacterial promoters with variable strength that are applicable in the engineering of BGCs in myxobacteria. The screened strongest constitutive promoter was used to efficiently enhance the expression of two complex BGCs governing the biosynthesis of myxochromide and DKxanthene in the model myxobacterium Myxococcus xanthus DK1622. We also showcased the combination of promoter engineering and MS²-based spectral networking as an effective strategy to shed light on the previously overlooked chemistry in the family of myxochromide-type lipopeptides. The enriched promoter library substantially expanded the synthetic biology toolkit available for myxobacteria.