Elsevier

Gene

Volume 142, Issue 1, 3 May 1994, Pages 31-39
Gene

Cloning, sequencing and deduced functions of a cluster of Streptomyces genes probably encoding biosynthesis of the polyketide antibiotic frenolicin

https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-1119(94)90351-4Get rights and content

Abstract

A 10.2-kb fragment of DNA from Streptomyces roseofulvus, which contains polyketide synthase(PKS)-encoding genes (fren) presumed to determine production of the antibiotics frenolicin and the nanaomycins, was cloned. A 5530-bp continuous segment of this DNA was sequenced. Analysis of the sequence revealed five complete open reading frames (ORFs) transcribed in one direction (ORFs 1, 2, 3, 5, 4) and one (ORFX), located between ORF3 and ORF5, transcribed in the opposite direction. The deduced amino-acid sequences of ORFs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 closely resemble the sequences of known components of the type-II PKS from other Streptomyces species: putative heterodimeric (ORF 1 + 2) ketosynthase, acyl carrier protein, cyclase and ketoreductase, respectively. A resemblance between the N-terminal and C-terminal halves of the ORF4 product — also discovered in the corresponding genes from other isochromanequinone antibiotic producers — suggests a possible origin of the cyclase-encoding gene by duplication. ORFX appears to represent a novel class of genes of unknown function present not only in the fren cluster, but also in other clusters of aromatic antibiotic biosynthetic genes in Streptomyces species. The fren-ORF1-5 genes, encoding a PKS that constructs a nascent polyketide of either 16 or 18 carbons, compared with fixed lengths of 16 and 20 for other available examples, are proving to be valuable for understanding the mechanisms controlling polyketide chain length and patterns of reduction and cyclisation.

References (39)

  • D.H. Sherman et al.

    Molecular genetic analysis reveals a bifunctional polyketide cyclase/dehydrase gene from Streptomyces coelicolor and Streptomyces violaceoruber, and a cyclase/O-methyltransferase from Streptomyces glaucescens

    Tetrahedron

    (1991)
  • C. Yanisch-Perron et al.

    Improved M13 vectors and host strains: nucleotide sequences of the M13mp18 and pUC19 vectors

    Gene

    (1985)
  • T.J. Arrowsmith et al.

    Characterisation of actI-homologous DNA encoding polyketide synthase genes from the monensin producer Streptomyces cinnamonensis

    Mol. Gen. Genet.

    (1992)
  • P.L. Bartel et al.

    Biosynthesis of anthraquinones by interspecies cloning of actinorhodin biosynthesis genes in streptomyces: clarification of actinorhodin gene functions

    J. Bacteriol.

    (1990)
  • M.J. Bibb et al.

    Analysis of the nucleotide sequence of the Streptomyces glaucescens tcmI genes provides key information about the enzymology of polyketide antibiotic biosynthesis

    EMBO J.

    (1989)
  • K.F. Chater et al.

    Streptomyces

  • J.F. Collins et al.

    Protein and nucleic-acid sequence database searching — a suitable case for parallel processing

    Comput. J.

    (1987)
  • J. Cortes et al.

    An unusually large multifunctional polypeptide in the erythromycin producing polyketide synthase of Saccharopolyspora erythraea

    Nature

    (1990)
  • N.K. Davis et al.

    Spore colour in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) involves the developmentally regulated synthesis of a compound biosynthetically related to polyketide antibiotics

    Mol. Microbiol.

    (1990)
  • Cited by (109)

    • Synthetic biology approaches for secondary metabolism engineering

      2021, Microbial Cell Factories Engineering for Production of Biomolecules
    • Biosynthesis of pyranonaphthoquinone polyketides reveals diverse strategies for enzymatic carbon-carbon bond formation

      2013, Current Opinion in Chemical Biology
      Citation Excerpt :

      One distinct subclass of aromatic polyketides is the pyranonaphthoquinones, which have a fused three-ring structure composed of a pyran, a quinone and a benzene ring (Figure 1). The p-quinone is typically found as the central ring, like in actinorhodin, granaticin, medermycin and frenolicin, but in the case of alnumycin A the quinone structure has an atypical position as a lateral ring [2–6]. The remarkable feature of pyranonaphthoquinones is the wealth of non-canonical modifications made to the core aglycone units, which are in many cases accomplished via CC bonds.

    • Chapter 16 In Vitro Analysis of Type II Polyketide Synthase

      2009, Methods in Enzymology
      Citation Excerpt :

      Most type II PKSs are primed by an acetate unit with acetyl‐ACP or through the decarboxylation of a malonyl‐ACP. Numerous medicinally important polyketides are initiated with nonacetate starter units (Fig. 16.1), including daunorubicin (propionate) (Bao et al., 1999), tetracycline (malonamate) (Zhang et al., 2006), frenolicin (butyrate) (Bibb et al., 1994), R1128 (medium‐length alkylacyl groups) (Tang et al., 2004b), enterocin (benzoate) (Cheng et al., 2007), and hedamycin (a reduced polyketide starter unit) (Bililign et al., 2004). Genetic characterizations of the corresponding gene clusters has revealed the presence of various enzymes that can synthesize the starter unit, bypass the acetate priming, and transfer the starter unit to the minimal PKS.

    • Proposed Arrangement of Proteins Forming a Bacterial Type II Polyketide Synthase

      2008, Chemistry and Biology
      Citation Excerpt :

      The enzyme encoded by dpsC is a homolog of the β-ketoacyl: ACP synthase III (KASIII) responsible for the condensation between the starter unit and the first extender unit, while dpsD encodes a proposed MCAT (Rajgarhia and Strohl, 1997). The genes dpsC and -D are rare, and equivalent enzymes have only been described in this and other type II PKS clusters that utilize nonacetate starters (Bibb et al., 1994; Piel et al., 2000; Raty et al., 2002). Their role in starter unit selection is not, however, entirely clear, as deleting dpsC but not dpsD shifted starter unit selection from propionate to predominantly acetate (Rajgarhia and Strohl, 1997), suggesting that dpsC and not dpsD contributes to, but does not dictate, starter unit selection.

    View all citing articles on Scopus

    Present address: Department of Microbiology, Biological Process Technology Institute, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, U.S.A. Tel. (1-612) 625-1901

    View full text