Identification and Heterologous Expression of the Kendomycin B Biosynthetic Gene Cluster from Verrucosispora sp. SCSIO 07399

sp. SCSIO 07399, a rare marine-derived actinomycete, produces a set of ansamycin-like polyketides kendomycin B-D ( - ) which possess potent antibacterial activities and moderate tumor cytotoxicity. Structurally, kendomycin B-D contain a unique aliphatic macrocyclic scaffold in which the highly substituted pyran ring is connected to the quinone moiety. In this work, a type I/type III polyketide synthase (PKS) hybrid biosynthetic gene cluster coding for assembly of kendomycin B ( ), and covering 33 open reading frames, was identified from sp. SCSIO 07399. The cluster was found to be essential for kendomycin B biosynthesis as verified by gene disruption and heterologous expression. Correspondingly, a biosynthetic pathway was proposed based on bioinformatics, cluster alignments, and previous research. Additionally, the role of type III PKS for generating the precursor unit 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (3,5-DHBA) was demonstrated by chemical complementation, and type I PKS executed the polyketide chain elongation. The cluster was found to contain a positive regulatory gene whose regulatory effect was identified using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). These advances shed important new insights into kendomycin B biosynthesis and help to set the foundation for further research aimed at understanding and exploiting the carbacylic scaffold.