Identification of Potential Target Genes Involved in Doxorubicin Overproduction Using Streptomyces DNA Microarray Systems

Doxorubicin is a highly-valuable anthracycline-family polyketide drug with a very potent anticancer activity, typically produced by a Gram-positive soil bacterium called Streptomyces peucetius. Thanks to the recent development of Streptomyces genomics-based technologies, the random mutagenesis approach for Streptomyces strain improvement has been switched toward the genomics-based technologies including the application of DNA microarray systems. In order to identify and characterize the genomics-driven potential target genes critical for doxorubincin overproduction, three different types of doxorubicin overproducing strains, a dnrI(doxorubicin-specific positive regulatory gene)-overexpressor, a doxA (gene involved in the conversion from daunorubicin to doxorubicin)-overexpressor, and a recursively-mutated industrial strain, were generated and examined their genomic transcription profiles using Streptomyces DNA microarray systems. The DNA microarray results revealed several potential target genes in S. peucetius genome, whose expressions were significantly either up- or down-regulated comparing with the wild-type strain. A systematic understanding of doxorubicin overproduction at the genomic level presented in this research should lead us a rational design of molecular genetic strain improvement strategy.