• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.136-139
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• 2009

Avermectin and its analogs are major commercial antiparasitic agents in the fields of animal health, agriculture, and human infections. Previously, comparative transcriptome analysis between the low-producer S. avermitilis ATCC31267 and the high-producer S. avermitilis ATCC31780 using a S. avermitilis whole genome chip revealed that 50 genes were overexpressed at least two-fold higher in S. avermitilis ATCC31780. To verify the biological significance of some of the transcriptomics-guided targets, five putative regulatory genes were individually cloned under the strong-and-constitutive promoter of the Streptomyces expression vector pSE34, followed by the transformation into the low-producer S. avermitilis ATCC31267. Among the putative genes tested, three regulatory genes including SAV213, SAV3818, and SAV4023 exhibited stimulatory effects on avermectin production in S. avermitilis ATCC31267. Moreover, overexpression of SAV3818 also stimulated actinorhodin production in both S. coelicolor M145 and S. lividans TK21, implying that the SAV3818, a putative TetR-family transcriptional regulator, could be a global upregulator acting in antibiotic production in Streptomyces species.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.534-538
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• 2007

Avermectin and its analogs are major commercial antiparasitic agents in the fields of animal health, agriculture, and human infections. To increase our understanding about the genetic mechanism underlying avermectin overproduction, comparative transcriptomes were analyzed between the low producer S. avermitilis ATCC31267 and the high producer S. avermitilis ATCC31780 via a S. avermitilis whole genome chip. The comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that fifty S. avermitilis genes were expressed at least two-fold higher in S. avermitilis ATCC31780. In particular, all the avermectin biosynthetic genes, including polyketide synthase (PKS) genes and an avermectin pathway-specific regulatory gene, were less expressed in the low producer S. avermitilis ATCC31267. The present results imply that avermectin overproduction in S. avermitilis ATCC31780 could be attributed to the previously unidentified fifty genes reported here and increased transcription levels of avermectin PKS genes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.1563-1567
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• 2007

AfsKav is a eukaryotic-type serine/threonine protein kinase, required for sporulation and avermectin production in Streptomyces avermitilis. In terms of their ability to complement SJW4001 (${\Delta}afsK$-av), afsK-av mutants T165A and T168A were not functional, whereas mutants T165D and T168D retained their ability, indicating that Thr-165 and Thr-168 are the phosphorylation sites required for the role of AfsKav. Expression of the S-adenosylmethione synthetase gene promoted avermectin production in the wild-type S. avermitilis, yet not in the mutant harboring T168D or T165D, demonstrating that tandem phosphorylation on Thr-165 and Thr-168 in AfsKav is the mechanism modulating avermectin production in response to S-adenosylmethione accumulation in S. avermitilis.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.279-286
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• 2009

Streptomyces is well known for their ability to synthesize enormous varieties of antibiotics as secondary metabolites. Among them, S. avermitilis produces avermectins, a group of antiparasitic agents used in human and veterinary medicine. However, S. avermitilis also produces oligomycin, which is a potential toxic inhibitor of oxidative phosphorylation in mammalian cells. Therefore, we decided to disrupt oligomycin synthetase gene to prevent co-production of oligomycin in S. avermitilis. To create plasmid for disruption, the smallest gene of oligomycin synthetase gene cluster was obtained by PCR from S. avermitilis chromosome. Then, apramycin resistance gene was inserted in oligomycin synthetase gene for selection. After transformation of this plasmid, oligomycin synthetase gene (olmA5) in the chromosome was displaced with disruption cassette on the plasmid via homologous recombination. As a result of this gene replacement, we obtained mutants (olmA5::apra) that no longer makes the toxic oligomycin. And the mutants confirmed by PCR and HPLC analysis. However, showed no increasement of avermectin production in the mutant was observed.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.195-198
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• 2000

Production of eight avermectin components was improved in Streptomyces avermitilis wild type strain (ATCC31267) and high producing mutant strain (ATCC31780) when transformed with a foreign regulatory gene, afsR2 of Streptomyces lividans. Wild type and the high producing strain of S. avermitilis transformed with multiple copies of afsR2 improved total avermectin productions by 2.3 fold and 1.5 fold, respectively. In both of wild type and the high producing transformants carrying afsR2, glycerol was proved to be the best carbon source for the stimulation of avermectin production.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.211-215
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• 2006

AfsR2 is a global regulatory protein involved in the stimulation of secondary metabolite biosynthesis in various Streptomyces species including avermectin-producing S. avermitilis. Among several AfsR2-dependent genes identified from the comparative proteomics, the polyribonucleotide nucleotidyltransferase (PNP) and the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) genes were previously proposed to regulate the actinorhodin production in S. lividans upon afsR2 over-expression positively and negatively, respectively. To show the biological significance of the PNP and GPD genes in the S. avermitilis strains, these two genes were functionally expressed in both the wild-type and the avermectin-overproducing mutant strains. The PNP gene expression stimulated secondary metabolite production in the wild-type S. avermitilis ATCC31267, but not in the avermectin-overproducing S. avermitilis ATCC31780. Interestingly, the GDP gene expression stimulated secondary metabolite production by 4-fold in the wild-type S. avermitilis ATCC31267 and by 2.5-fold in the avermectin-overproducing S. avermitilis ATCC31780, respectively. These results suggest that the biological significance of the afsR2-dependent PNP and GPD gene expressions on antibiotic biosynthetic regulation could be significantly different depending on Streptomyces species.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.171-176
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• 2017

Streptomyces avermitilis produces clinically useful drugs such as avermectins and oligomycins. Its genome contains approximately 33 cytochrome P450 genes and they seem to play important roles in the biosynthesis of many secondary metabolites. The SAV_7130 gene from S. avermitilis encodes CYP158A3. The amino acid sequence of this enzyme has high similarity with that of CYP158A2, a biflaviolin synthase from S. coelicolor A3(2). Recombinant S. avermitilis CYP158A3 was heterologously expressed and purified. It exhibited the typical P450 Soret peak at 447 nm in the reduced CO-bound form. Type I binding spectral changes were observed when CYP158A3 was titrated with myristic acid; however, no oxidative product was formed. An analog of flaviolin, 2-hydroxynaphthoquinone (2-OH NQ) displayed similar type I binding upon titration with purified CYP158A3. It underwent an enzymatic reaction forming dimerized product. A homology model of CYP158A3 was superimposed with the structure of CYP158A2, and the majority of structural elements aligned. These results suggest that CYP158A3 might be an orthologue of biflaviolin synthase, catalyzing C-C coupling reactions during pigment biosynthesis in S. avermitilis.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.101-109
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• 2004

In order to enhance the productivity of AVM $B_{la}$ produced by Streptomyces avermitilis as a secondary metabolite, we established a basic protocol necessary for protoplast fusion with high-producing strains as a fusion partner, and then obtained various kinds offusants by adopting a massive strain-development procedure (a miniaturized strain screening system). An alternative fusion method using UV and/or NTG mutation of protoplasts was developed to screen genetic recombinants without specific selectable markers. In this method, the mutants obtained by protoplast fusion after UV and/or NTG treatment (95% death rate) of the respective fusion partner (protoplasts of the respective mutants resistant against L-isoleucine antimetabolites such as O-methylthreonine and/or azaleucine) were regarded as DNA-recombined protoplast fusants. Notably it was demonstrated that most of the protoplast recombinants obtained by the UV mutation method were able to biosynthesize higher amount of AVM $B_{la}$ , reaching almost three times higher level (almost equal to the industrial productivity), compared to the average AVM Bla amount of the parallel mother strains.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.277-284
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• 2005

The avermectins are composed of eight compounds, which exhibit structural differences at three positions. A family of four closely-related major components, A1a, A2a, B1a and B2a, has been identified. Of these components, B1a exhibits the most potent antihelminthic activity. The coexistence of the '1' components and '2' components has been accounted for by the defective dehydratase of aveAI module 2, which appears to be responsible for C22-23 dehydration. Therefore, we have attempted to replace the dehydratase of aveAI module 2 with the functional dehydratase from the erythromycin eryAII module 4, via homologous recombination. Erythromycin polyketide synthetase should contain the sole dehydratase domain, thus generating a saturated chain at the C6-7 of erythromycin. We constructed replacement plasmids with PCR products, by using primers which had been derived from the sequences of avermectin aveAI and the erythromycin eryAII biosynthetic gene cluster. If the original dehydratase of Streptomyces avermitilis were exchanged with the corresponding erythromycin gene located on the replacement plasmid, it would be expected to result in the formation of precursors which contain alkene at C22-23, formed by the dehydratase of erythromycin module 4, and further processed by avermectin polyketide synthase. Consequently, the resulting recombinant strain JW3105, which harbors the dehydratase gene derived from erythromycin, was shown to produce only C22,23-unsaturated avermectin compounds. Our research indicates that the desired compound may be produced via polyketide gene replacement.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.158-163
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• 2001

The effect of phosphate on the production of avermectin B1a was studied. Response surface methodology was applied to optimize the concentration of organic nitrogen sources. The portion of B1b in total avermectins was decreased from 5.8% to 3.0% by the addition of 1.5 g/ι inorganic phosphate to the production medium. Among organic nitrogen sources, soybean meal was the most effective on avermectin biosynthesis. Results showed that B1a productivity was increased by 44.8% in a laboratory scale fermenter cultivation of Streptomyces avermitilis YA99-40 through fed-batch process. A maximal B1a productivity was obtained by repeated 30 and 20 g/ι of glucose feeding at 136 and 206 hour, respectively. The B1a productivity was increased by 86.3% and the proportion of B1a in the total avermectins was improved from 38% to 45% with respect to the control process. These results would be very useful for enhancing productivity of B1a in an up-scaled processes.