Proteomic approach to enhance doxorubicin production in panK-integrated Streptomyces peucetius ATCC 27952.

Biosynthesis of polyketide compounds depends upon the starter and extender units of coenzyme A derivatives of carboxylic acids present in the host organism. To increase the coenzyme A (CoA) pool, pantothenate kinase (panK) gene from Escherichia coli was integrated into S. peucetius ATCC 27952 (panK-integrated strain, BG200), which resulted in increase in aglycone polyketide ε-rhodomycinone (RHO), but decrease in the desired product, i.e., doxorubicin (DXR). To reduce RHO accumulation by synthesizing daunorubicin (DNR) from RHO more efficiently, glycosyltransferase (dnrQS) was overexpressed (pIBR25::dnrQS in panK-integrated strain, BG201). However, DnrQS overexpression still resulted in less production of DXR compared with the parental strain. To understand the results in detail by investigating the proteome changes in the panK-integrated strain, two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis was performed. Among the several proteins that are up- or downregulated in BG200, efflux protein DrrA was our main target of interest, because it is directly related to DXR/DNR production in S. peucetius. DXR transporter DrrAB was additionally introduced in BG200 to enhance secretion of toxic DXR. Compared with S. peucetius ATCC 27952, BG204 (pIBR25::drrAB in panK-integrated strain), produced two times higher amount of DXR, which is 9.4-fold higher than that of panK-integrated strain BG200. The results show that the proteomic approach is quite useful in host development of Streptomyces and understanding cell physiology for antibiotic production.

Genetic engineering approach for the production of rhamnosyl and allosyl flavonoids from Escherichia coli.

The main functions of glycosylation are stabilization, detoxification and solubilization of substrates and products. To produce glycosylated products, Escherichia coli was engineered by overexpression of TDP-L-rhamnose and TDP-6-deoxy-D-allose biosynthetic gene clusters, and flavonoids were glycosylated by the overexpression of the glycosyltransferase gene from Arabidopsis thaliana. For the glycosylation, these flavonoids (quercetin and kaempferol) were exogenously fed to the host in a biotransformation system. The products were isolated, analyzed and confirmed by HPLC, LC/MS, and ESI-MS/MS analyses. Several conditions (arabinose, IPTG concentration, OD(600), substrate concentration, incubation time) were optimized to increase the production level. We successfully isolated approximately 24 mg/L 3-O-rhamnosyl quercetin and 12.9 mg/L 3-O-rhamnosyl kaempferol upon feeding of 0.2 mM of the respective flavonoids and were also able to isolate 3-O-allosyl quercetin. Thus, this study reveals a method that might be useful for the biosynthesis of rhamnosyl and allosyl flavonoids and for the glycosylation of related compounds.

Metabolic engineering of Streptomyces venezuelae for malonyl-CoA biosynthesis to enhance heterologous production of polyketides.

Using metabolic engineering, we developed Streptomyces venezuelae YJ028 as an efficient heterologous host to increase the malonyl-CoA pool to be directed towards enhanced production of various polyketides. To probe the applicability of newly developed hosts in the heterologous production of polyketides, we expressed type III polyketide synthase, 1,3,6,8-tetrahydroxynaphthalene synthase, in these hosts. Flaviolin production was doubled by expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) and 4-fold by combined expression of ACCase, metK1-sp and afsR-sp. Thus, the newly developed Streptomyces venezuelae YJ028 hosts produce heterologous polyketides more efficiently than the parent strain.

Enhancement of clavulanic acid production by expressing regulatory genes in gap gene deletion mutant of Streptomyces clavuligerus NRRL3585.

Streptomyces clavuligerus NRRL3585 produces a clinically important ss-lactamase inhibitor, clavulanic acid (CA). In order to increase the production of CA, the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene was deleted in S. clavuligerus NRRL3585 to overcome the limited glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate pool; the replicative and integrative expressions of ccaR (specific regulator of the CA biosynthetic operon) and claR (Lys-type transcriptional activator) genes were transformed together into deleted mutant to improve clavulanic acid production. We constructed two recombinant plasmids to enhance the production of CA in the gap1 deletion mutant of S. clavuligerus NRRL3585: pHN11 was constructed for overexpression of ccaR-claR, whereas pHN12 was constructed for their chromosomal integration. Both pHN11 and pHN12 transformants enhanced the production of CA by 2.59-fold and 5.85-fold, respectively, compared to the gap1 deletion mutant. For further enhancement of CA, we fed the pHN11 and pHN12 transformants ornithine and glycerol. Compared to the gap1 deletion mutant, ornithine increased CA production by 3.24- and 6.51-fold in the pHN11 and pHN12 transformants, respectively, glycerol increased CA by 2.96- and 6.21-fold, respectively, and ornithine and glycerol together increased CA by 3.72- and 7.02-fold, respectively.

Improved squalene production via modulation of the methylerythritol 4-phosphate pathway and heterologous expression of genes from Streptomyces peucetius ATCC 27952 in Escherichia coli.

Putative hopanoid genes from Streptomyces peucetius were introduced into Escherichia coli to improve the production of squalene, an industrially important compound. High expression of hopA and hopB (encoding squalene/phytoene synthases) together with hopD (encoding farnesyl diphosphate synthase) yielded 4.1 mg/liter of squalene. This level was elevated to 11.8 mg/liter when there was also increased expression of dxs and idi, E. coli genes encoding 1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase and isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase.

Characterization of CalS9 in the biosynthesis of UDP-xylose and the production of xylosyl-attached hybrid compound.

The gene cluster of calicheamicin contains calS9, which encodes UDP-GlcA decarboxylase that converts UDP-GlcA to UDP-xylose. calS9 was cloned in pET32a(+) and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) to characterize its putative function. The reaction product was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry. The deoxysugar biosynthesis of Streptomyces sp. KCTC 0041BP was inactivated by gene replacement to generate Streptomyces sp. GerSM2 mutant, which was unable to produce dihydrochalcomycin. calS7, calS8, and calS9 UDP-xylose biosynthetic genes were cloned in an integrative plasmid pSET152 to generate pBPDS, which was heterologously expressed in Streptomyces sp. GerSM2. Finally, novel glycosylated product, 5-O-xylosyl-chalconolide derivative, in the conjugal transformants was isolated and analyzed by HPLC and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Squalene-hopene cyclase (Spterp25) from Streptomyces peucetius: sequence analysis, expression and functional characterization.

Squalene-hopene cyclase, which catalyzes the complex cyclization of squalene to the pentacyclic triterpene, hopene, is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of hopanoids. The deduced amino acid sequence of the Streptomyces peucetius gene (spterp25) had significant similarity to other prokaryotic squalene-hopene cyclases. Like other triterpene cyclases, the S. peucetius squalene-hopene cyclase contains eight so-called QW-motifs with an aspartate-rich domain. The 2,025-bp squalene-hopene cyclase-encoding gene was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)pLySs, and the in vitro activity of the recombinant cyclase was demonstrated using purified membrane protein. The cyclization product hopene was identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

Mass spectrometric screening of transcriptional regulators involved in antibiotic biosynthesis in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2).

DNA-affinity capture assay (DACA) coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis was applied to identify the transcriptional regulators involved in the biosynthesis of actinorhodin (Act) and undecylprodigiosin (Red) in Streptomyces coelicolor. The aim of this analysis was to determine the specific transcriptional regulators binding to the promoter region of actII-ORF4 or redD. The results of the DACA, as the first screening tool, identified eight proteins, including AdpA, as candidate regulators binding to those promoter regions. To show the direct physical relationship between the regulators and promoters, we purified four regulators over-expressed in soluble form in Escherichia coli and subjected these to an electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). The results of the EMSA appeared to be compatible with the DACA results for those regulators. A null mutant was also constructed for one of these regulators, SCO6008, which showed early Red production and quite delayed Act production in R5(-) medium. These observations suggest that DACA can be widely used to find new regulators and that the regulator SCO6008 may be involved in antibiotic production through its binding to the redD promoter.

A novel Ca2+-dependent phospholipase D from Streptomyces tendae, possessing only hydrolytic activity.

An extracellular phospholipase D (PLD(St)) was purified from Streptomyces tendae by two successive chromatographic steps on Sepharose CL-6B and DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B. Molecular weight of the PLD(St) was estimated to be approximately 43 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfatepolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Maximal activity was at pH 8 and 60 degrees C, and the enzyme was stable at or below 60 degrees C and between pH 8 and 10, when assayed after 1.5 and 24 h, respectively. The enzyme activity had an absolute requirement of Ca(2+), and the maximum activity was at 2 mM CaCl(2). The Km and Vmax values for phosphatidyl choline were 0.95 mM and 810 micromol min(-1) mg(-1), respectively. More importantly, PLD(St) could not catalyze transphosphatidylation of glycerol, L-serine, myo-inositol and ethanolamine, which have been extensively used to evaluate the activity. The result strongly suggests that PLD( St ) does not have the transphosphatidylation activity, thereby making it the first Streptomyces PLD possessing only hydrolytic activity. PLD(St) may therefore be a novel type of PLD enzyme.

Identification and functional characterization of an afsR homolog regulatory gene from Streptomyces venezuelae ATCC 15439.

Sequencing analysis of a 5-kb DNA fragment from Streptomyces venezuelae ATCC 15439 revealed the presence of one 3.1-kb open reading frame (ORF), designated afsRsv. The deduced product of afsR-sv (1,056 aa) was found to have high homology with the global regulatory protein AfsR. Homology-based analysis showed that afsR-sv represents a transcriptional activator belonging to the Streptomyces antibiotic regulatory protein (SARP) family that includes an Nterminal SARP domain containing a bacterial transcriptional activation domain (BTAD), an NB-ARC domain, and a Cterminal tetratricopeptide repeat domain. Gene expression analysis by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) demonstrated the activation of transcription of genes belonging to pikromycin production, when afsR-sv was overexpressed in S. venezuelae. Heterologous expression of the afsR-sv in different Streptomyces strains resulted in increased production of the respective antibiotics, suggesting that afsR-sv is a positive regulator of antibiotics biosynthesis.

Cloning and functional characterization of the germacradienol synthase (spterp13) from Streptomyces peucetius ATCC 27952.

Sequence analysis of the metabolically rich genome of Streptomyces peucetius ATCC 27952 revealed a 2,199 bp sesquiterpene alcohol (germacradienol) synthase-encoding gene from the germacradienol synthase/terpene cyclase gene cluster. The gene was named spterp13, and its putative function is as a germacradienol synthase/terpene cyclase. The amino acid sequence of Spterp13 shows 66% identity with SAV2163 (GeoA) from S. avermitilis MA- 4680 and 65% identity with SCO6073 from S. coelicolor A3(2), which produces germacradienol/geosmin. The fulllength recombinant protein was heterologously expressed as a his-tagged fusion protein in Escherichia coli, purified, and shown to catalyze the Mg2+-dependent conversion of farnesyl diphosphate to the germacradienol, which was verified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

Enzymatic synthesis of dTDP-4-amino-4,6-dideoxy-D-glucose using GerB (dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-glucose aminotransferase).

Over-expressed GerB (dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-d-glucose aminotransferase) of Streptomyces sp. GERI-155 was used in the enzymatic synthesis of dTDP-4-amino-4,6-dideoxy-D-glucose (2) from dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-glucose (1). [Carbohydrate structure: see text]. Five enzymes including dTMP kinase (TMK), acetate kinase (ACK), dTDP-glucose synthase (TGS), dTDP-glucose 4,6-dehydratase (DH), and dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-d-glucose aminotransferase (GerB) were used to synthesize 2 on a large scale from glucose-1-phosphate and TMP. A conversion yield of up to 57% was obtained by HPLC peak integration given a reaction time of 270min. After purification by two successive preparative HPLC systems, the final product was identified by HPLC and then analyzed by (1)H, (13)C, (1)H-(1)H COSY NMR spectrometry.

Enhancement of clavulanic acid by replicative and integrative expression of ccaR and cas2 in Streptomyces clavuligerus NRRL3585.

Clavulanic acid (CA) is an inhibitor of beta-lactamase that is produced from Streptomyces clavuligerus NRRL3585 and is used in combination with other antibiotics in clinical treatments. In order to increase the production of CA, the replicative and integrative expressions of ccaR (encoding for a specific regulator of the CA biosynthetic operon) and cas2 (encoding for the rate-limiting enzyme in the CA biosynthetic pathway) were applied. Six recombinant plasmids were designed for this study. The pIBRHL1, pIBRHL3, and pIBRHL13 were constructed for overexpression, whereas pNQ3, pNQ2, and pNQ1 were constructed for chromosomal integration with ccaR, cas2, and ccaR-cas2, respectively. All of these plasmids were transformed into S. clavuligerus NRRL3585. CA production in transformants resulted in a significantly enhanced amount greater than that of the wild type, a 2.25-fold increase with pIBRHL1, a 9.28-fold increase with pNQ3, a 5.06-fold increase with pIBRHL3, a 2.93-fold increase with pNQ2 integration, a 5.79-fold increase with pIBRHL13, and a 23.8-fold increase with pNQ1. The integrative pNQ1 strain has been successfully applied to enhance production.

Enhanced proteomic analysis of Streptomyces peucetius cytosolic protein using optimized protein solubilization protocol.

Improvements in the dissolution of proteins in two-dimensional gel electrophoresis have greatly advanced the ability to analyze the proteomes of microorganisms under a wide variety of physiological conditions. This study examined the effect of various combinations of chaotropic agents, a reducing agent, and a detergent on the dissolution of the Streptomyces peucetius cytosolic proteins. The use of urea alone in a rehydration buffer as a chaotropic agent gave the proteome a higher solubility than any of the urea and thiourea combinations, and produced the highest resolution and clearest background in two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Two % CHAPS, as a detergent in a rehydration buffer, improved the protein solubility. After examining the effect of several concentrations of reducing agent, 50 mM DTT in a rehydration buffer was found to be an optimal condition for the proteome analysis of Streptomyces. Using this optimized buffer condition, more than 2,000 distinct and differentially expressed soluble proteins could be resolved using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis with a pI ranging from 4-7. Under this optimized condition, 15 novel small proteins with low-level expression, which could not be analyzed under the non-optimized conditions, were identified. Overall, the optimized condition helped produce a better reference gel for Streptomyces peucetius.

Angucyclines Sch 47554 and Sch 47555 from Streptomyces sp. SCC-2136: cloning, sequencing, and characterization.

The entire gene cluster involved in the biosynthesis of angucyclines Sch 47554 and Sch 47555 was cloned, sequenced, and characterized. Analysis of the nucleotide sequence of genomic DNA spanning 77.5-kb revealed a total of 55 open reading frames, and the deduced products exhibited strong sequence similarities to type II polyketide synthases, deoxysugar biosynthetic enzymes, and a variety of accessory enzymes. The involvement of this gene cluster in the pathway of Sch 47554 and Sch 47555 was confirmed by genetic inactivation of the aromatase, including a portion of the ketoreductase, which was disrupted by inserting the thiostrepton gene.

Identification and characterization of the afsR homologue regulatory gene from Streptomyces peucetius ATCC 27952.

We have isolated an afsR homologue, called afsR-p, through genome analysis of Streptomyces peucetius ATCC 27952. AfsR-p shares 60% sequence identity with AfsR from Streptomyces coelicolor A3 (2). afsR-p was expressed under the control of the ermE* promoter in its hosts S. peucetius, Streptomyces lividans TK 24, Streptomyces clavuligerus and Streptomyces griseus. We observed overproduction of doxorubicin (4-fold) in S. peucetius, gamma-actinorhodin (2.6-fold) in S. lividans, clavulanic acid (1.5-fold) in S. clavuligerus and streptomycin (slight) in S. griseus. Overproduction was due to expression of the gene in these strains as compared to the wild-type strains harboring the vector only. Comparative study of the expression of afsR-p revealed that regulatory networking in Streptomyces is not uniform. We speculate that phosphorylated AfsR-p becomes bound to the promoter region of afsS. The latter activates other regulatory genes, including pathway regulatory genes, and induces the production of secondary metabolites including antibiotics. We identified specific conserved amino acids and exploited them for the isolation of the partial sequence of the afsR homologue from S. clavuligerus and Streptomyces achromogens (rubradirin producer). Such findings provide additional evidence for the presence of a serine/threonine and tyrosine kinase-dependent global regulatory network in Streptomyces.

The ribostamycin biosynthetic gene cluster in Streptomyces ribosidificus: comparison with butirosin biosynthesis.

A cluster of genes for ribostamycin (Rbm) biosynthesis was isolated from Streptomyces ribosidificus ATCC 21294. Sequencing of 31.892 kb of the genomic DNA of S. ribosidificus revealed 26 open reading frames (ORFs) encoding putative Rbm biosynthetic genes as well as resistance and other genes. One of ten putative Rbm biosynthetic genes, rbmA, was expressed in S. lividans TK24, and shown to encode 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose (DOI) synthase. Acetylation of various aminoglycoside-aminocyclitol (AmAcs) by RbmI confirmed it to be an aminoglycoside 3-N-acetyltransferase. Comparison of the genetic control of ribostamycin and butirosin biosynthesis pointed to a common biosynthetic route for these compounds, despite the considerable differences between them in genetic organization.

Neocarzinostatin naphthoate synthase: an unique iterative type I PKS from neocarzinostatin producer Streptomyces carzinostaticus.

Enediyne antibiotics are known for their potent antitumor activities. One such enediyne, neocarzinostatin (NCS), consists of a 1:1 complex of non-peptide chromophore (1a), and peptide apoprotein. The structurally diverse non-peptide chromophore is responsible for its biological activity. One of its structural components, the naphthoic acid moiety (2,7-dihydroxy-5-methyl-1-naphthoic acid, 1d) is synthesized by a polyketide synthase (PKS) pathway through condensing six intact acetate units. The 5.45 kb iterative type I PKS, neocarzinostatin naphthoate synthase (NNS), responsible for naphthoic acid moiety biosynthesis, shares sequence homology with 6-methyl salicylic acid synthase of fungi and orsellinic acid synthases (AviM and CalO5) of Streptomyces origin. Cultures of S. lividans TK24 and S. coelicolor YU105 containing plasmids with NNS were able to produce 2-hydroxy-5-methyl-1-naphthoic acid (2a), a key intermediate of naphthoic acid moiety in NCS. In addition to 2a, a novel product, 2-hydroxy-5-hydroxymethyl-1-naphthoic acid (2d) was isolated. This is the first report of a bacterial iterative type I PKS from an enediyne producer which enables the biosynthesis of bicyclic aromatic compounds.

Isolation and characterization of the tobramycin biosynthetic gene cluster from Streptomyces tenebrarius.

The biosynthetic gene cluster for tobramycin, a 2-deoxystreptamine-containing aminoglycoside antibiotic, was isolated from Streptomyces tenebrarius ATCC 17920. A genomic library of S. tenebrarius was constructed, and a cosmid, pST51, was isolated by the probes based on the core regions of 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose (DOI) synthase, and L-glutamine:DOI aminotransferase and L-glutamine:scyllo-inosose aminotransferase. Sequencing of 33.9 kb revealed 24 open reading frames (ORFs) including putative tobramycin biosynthetic genes. We demonstrated that one of these ORFs, tbmA, encodes DOI synthase by in vitro enzyme assay of the purified protein. The catalytic residues of TbmA and dehydroquinate synthase were studied by homology modeling. The gene cluster found is likely to be involved in the biosynthesis of tobramycin.

Cloning and expression of the glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase gene (gerD) from Streptomyces sp. GERI-155.

GERI-155 is a macrolide antibiotic containing two deoxyhexose molecules, that has antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria. The deoxysugar biosynthetic gene cluster of GERI-155 was cloned from Streptomyces sp., GERI-155. One of the orfs, gerD, appeared to encode glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase (dTDP-glucose synthase), which converts dTTP and glucose-1-phosphate to dTDP-D-glucose and pyrophosphate. GerD was expressed in E. coli in vector pHJ2 and the expressed protein was purified to apparent homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation and DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B and DEAE-Trisacryl column chromatography. The specific activity of the enzyme increased 16-fold with a recovery of 10%. It migrated as a single band on SDS-PAGE with a molecular mass of 30 kDa. The purified protein had glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase activity, catalyzing a reversible bimolecular group transfer reaction. In the forward reaction the highest activity was obtained with the combination of dTTP and alpha-D-glucose-1-phosphate, and only 5.5% of that activity was obtained with UTP in place of dTTP. In the opposite direction the purified protein was highly specific for dTDP-D-glucose and pyrophosphate.