Identification of the thiazolyl peptide GE37468 gene cluster from Streptomyces ATCC 55365 and heterologous expression in Streptomyces lividans

Thiazolyl peptides are bacterial secondary metabolites that potently inhibit protein synthesis in Gram-positive bacteria and malarial parasites. Recently, our laboratory and others reported that this class of trithiazolyl pyridine-containing natural products is derived from ribosomally synthesized preproteins that undergo a cascade of posttranslational modifications to produce architecturally complex macrocyclic scaffolds. Here, we report the gene cluster responsible for production of the elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu)-targeting 29-member thiazolyl peptide GE37468 from Streptomyces ATCC 55365 and its heterologous expression in the model host Streptomyces lividans. GE37468 harbors an unusual β-methyl-δ-hydroxy-proline residue that may increase conformational rigidity of the macrocycle and impart reduced entropic costs of target binding. Isotope feeding and gene knockout were employed in the engineered S. lividans strain to identify the P450 monooxygenase GetJ as the enzyme involved in posttranslational transformation of isoleucine 8 to β-methyl-δ-hydroxy-proline through a predicted tandem double hydroxylation/cyclization mechanism. Loss of Ile8 oxygenative cyclization or mutation of Ile8 to alanine via preprotein gene replacement resulted in a 4-fold and 2-fold drop in antibiotic activity, respectively. This report of genetic manipulation of a 29-member thiazolyl peptide sets the stage for further genetic examination of structure activity relationships in the EF-Tu targeting class of thiazolyl peptides.