Functional analysis of the gene encoding the clavaminate synthase 2 isoenzyme involved in clavulanic acid biosynthesis in Steptomyces clavuligerus

A Streptomyces clavuligerus mutant disrupted in cas2, encoding the clavaminate synthase (CAS2) isoenzyme, was constructed by a gene replacement procedure. The resulting cas2 mutant showed no clavulanic acid production when grown in starch-asparagine medium. However, in soy medium, the cas2 mutant did produce clavulanic acid, although in amounts less than those produced by wild-type cultures. This medium-dependent leaky phenotype correlated well with the presence of the cas1 transcript, encoding the CAS1 isoenzyme, in cultures grown in soy medium and with its absence from those grown in starch-asparagine medium. This suggested that CAS1 and CAS2 both contribute to clavulanic acid production but that their production is regulated differently. Under nutritional conditions in which cas1 expression is blocked, cas2 becomes essential for clavulanic acid production. Northern (RNA) analysis revealed that while cas1 is transcribed as a 1.4-kb monocistronic transcript only, cas2 is transcribed both as a 1.2-kb monocistronic transcript and as part of a 5.3-kb polycistronic transcript. High-resolution S1 nuclease analysis located the transcription start point of the monocistronic cas2 transcript at a C residue 103 nucleotides upstream from the cas2 start codon.