The improving prospects for yield increase by genetic engineering in antibiotic-producing streptomycetes

Molecular genetics has spawned a dramatic expansion of the biotechnology industry in the direction of the products of single genes. On the other hand, antibiotics—some of the classical products of biotechnology—result from the concerted action of many genes, and it is therefore less straightforward to apply the new techniques to antibiotic production. Studies of cloned genes for antibiotic biosynthesis are now providing information that should allow the application of a combination of traditional and recombinant DNA methodology to the improvement of yield in antibiotic-producing Streptomyces species.