Biosynthesis of Polyene Antibiotics and Phytohormones by Streptomyces netropsis IMV Ac-5025 under the Action of Exogenous Isopentenyladenosine

Streptomyces are active producers of a wide range of metabolites with multidirectional biological activity. Streptomyces netropsis IMV Ac-5025 synthesizes a polyene antibiotic complex in which two fractions were identified: heptaene candidine and a new tetraene fraction of unknown structure. The influence of secondary metabolites on the polyene antibiotics biosynthesis by soil streptomycetes is insufficiently explored. The aim of this work was to research the effect of exogenous isopentenyladenosine on the biosynthesis of polyene antibiotics and cytokinins by S. netropsis IMV Ac-5025. Methods. The strain was cultured in submerged cultivation condition in organic (soy) and synthetic (starch-ammonia) liquid nutrient media. The studies of biomass accumulation (gravimetric method), glucose consumption (glucose oxidase method), pH changes of culture media (ionometric method), biosynthesis of polyene antibiotics, and phytohormones (quantitative and qualitative thin layer chromatography spectrodensitometric method) were conducted. The results were analyzed in Statisticav.6.0 program. Results. It was found that polyene antibiotics are synthesized after the first day of cultivation, which indicates their role in the metabolism of streptomycetes. The biggest amount of the polyene antibiotics was accumulated in the stationary phase of producer growth (on the 7th day). It was found the decrease of polyene antibiotics and cytokinins accumulation in the producer’s biomass with the increase of exogenous cytokinin concentration from 25 ng/mL to 500 ng/mL. The bioproduction of the tetraene fraction was suppressed to a greater extent – up to 92% in the synthetic and up to 23% – in organic nutrient media. However, the amount of producer biomass increased under the action of the exogenous substance that confirming the positive effect of exogenous cytokinin on cell division of S. netropsis IMV Ac-5025. Exogenous isopentenyladenosine reduced the accumulation of endogenous cytokinins in streptomycetes biomass. Conclusions. The obtained results indicate an indirect metabolic relationship between the biosynthesis of polyene antibiotics and cytokinins in soil streptomycetes and provide a basis for the regulation of the biotechnological process for bioproduct formation with the appropriate quantitative composition of its components.

Genomic and Metabolomic Investigation of a Rhizosphere Isolate Streptomyces netropsis WLXQSS-4 Associated with a Traditional Chinese Medicine

Rhizosphere microorganisms play important ecological roles in promoting herb growth and producing abundant secondary metabolites. Studies on the rhizosphere microbes of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) are limited, especially on the genomic and metabolic levels. In this study, we reported the isolation and characterization of a Steptomyces netropsis WLXQSS-4 strain from the rhizospheric soil of Clematis manshurica Rupr. Genomic sequencing revealed an impressive total of 40 predicted biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), whereas metabolomic profiling revealed 13 secondary metabolites under current laboratory conditions. Particularly, medium screening activated the production of alloaureothin, whereas brominated and chlorinated pimprinine derivatives were identified through precursor-directed feeding. Moreover, antiproliferative activities against Hela and A549 cancer cell lines were observed for five compounds, of which two also elicited potent growth inhibition in Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. Our results demonstrated the robust secondary metabolism of S. netropsis WLXQSS-4, which may serve as a biocontrol agent upon further investigation.

Three putative DNA replication/repair elements encoding genes confer self-resistance to distamycin in Streptomyces netropsis

Distamycin (DST) is a well-characterized DNA minor groove binder with antivirus activity and antitumor potency. Two separate gene clusters (a 28-kb cluster and a 7-kb cluster) have recently been identified to coordinately encode the biosynthetic machinery of DST in Streptomyces netropsis. Here we report a gene cassette, which is linked to the aforementioned smaller dst gene cluster and plays an important role in the self-resistance to DST in S. netropsis. This cassette consists of three uncharacterized genes that might be implicated in DNA replication/repair. Knockout of the cassette led to the decrease in the production of DST, while heterologous expression of part of the cassette in S. lividans made it become resistant to both DST and mitomycin C, another DNA-binding agent. More interestingly, homologs of these three genes were found in genomes of other actinomyces that produce DNA-binding antibiotics, suggesting that a novel common mechanism in addition to pumping may enable these strains to resist the cytotoxic metabolites they produced.