The insect pathogen Serratia marcescens Db10 uses a hybrid non-ribosomal peptide synthetase-polyketide synthase to produce the antibiotic althiomycin.

ABSTRACT: There is a continuing need to discover new bioactive natural products, such as antibiotics, in genetically-amenable micro-organisms. We observed that the enteric insect pathogen, Serratia marcescens Db10, produced a diffusible compound that inhibited the growth of Bacillis subtilis and Staphyloccocus aureus. Mapping the genetic locus required for this activity revealed a putative natural product biosynthetic gene cluster, further defined to a six-gene operon named alb1-alb6. Bioinformatic analysis of the proteins encoded by alb1-6 predicted a hybrid non-ribosomal peptide synthetase-polyketide synthase (NRPS-PKS) assembly line (Alb4/5/6), tailoring enzymes (Alb2/3) and an export/resistance protein (Alb1), and suggested that the machinery assembled althiomycin or a related molecule. Althiomy

SUBMITTER: Gerc AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3445576 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature