Precursor-directed production of erythromycin analogs by Saccharopolyspora erythraea

Diketide N‐acetylcysteamine (diketide NAC) thioester precursors were fed to 6‐Deoxyerythronolide B synthase (DEBS) ketosynthase‐1 inactivated (KS1°) Saccharopolyspora erythraea strains to produce 13‐substituted erythromycin analogs. This direct feeding process potentially represents a simplified production process over the current analog production system. Titers of these analogs were observed to increase linearly with the diketide concentration up to a precursor‐specific saturation level. However, the rate of product formation was lower and the rate of diketide consumption higher with S. erythraea than was previously observed with a recombinant strain of Streptomyces coelicolor. Several strategies were pursued to address the issue of these high diketide consumption rates: (1) elucidation of the locale of diketide degradation, (2) addition of β‐oxidation inhibitors to the cultures, and (3) addition of a sacrificial diketide enantiomer to occupy putative degradative enzymes. Additionally, repeated addition of diketide to an S. erythraea KS1° culture indicated that the titer of these erythromycin analogs is also currently limited by a shorter production period than observed during erythromycin synthesis by the parent strain. These results indicate potential avenues for expanding the use of this precursor‐directed system from the generation of limited quantities of erythromycin analogs to a large‐scale production system for these compounds. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng. 76: 303–310, 2001.