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Updated: Aug 5, 2026

From a Natural Product to Its Biosynthetic Gene Cluster: A Demonstration Using Polyketomycin from Streptomyces diastatochromogenes Tü6028
Published on: January 13, 2017
Activating hybrid modular interfaces in synthetic polyketide synthases by cassette replacement of ketosynthase
Sunil S Chandran1, Hugo G Menzella, John R Carney
1Kosan Biosciences, Inc., 3832 Bay Center Place, Hayward, California 94545, USA.
Abstract:
Unnatural combinations of polyketide synthase modules often fail to make a polyketide product. The causes of these failures are likely complex and are not yet amenable to rational correction. One possible explanation is the inability of the ketosynthase (KS) domain to extend the ketide donated to it by the upstream module. We therefore addressed the problem by exchanging KS domains of the acceptor module in a combinatorial fashion and coexpressing these chimeric modules with ketide-donor modules that naturally interact with the transplanted KS. This approach was remarkably successful in activating previously unproductive bimodular combinations, and the results augur well for the ongoing development of molecular tools to design and produce novel polyketides.
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