Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026

From a Natural Product to Its Biosynthetic Gene Cluster: A Demonstration Using Polyketomycin from Streptomyces diastatochromogenes Tü6028
Published on: January 13, 2017
Triggering cryptic natural product biosynthesis in microorganisms
Kirstin Scherlach1, Christian Hertweck
1Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, (HKI), Beutenbergstr. 11a, 07745, Jena, Germany.
Abstract:
Natural products from microorganisms are a crucial source for novel therapeutics. Even so, it seems that many valuable compounds are overlooked when culturing microbes under standardized laboratory conditions. Many biosynthesis genes remain silent and such "cryptic" or "orphan" pathways are only activated under specific conditions. This report gives an overview on the strategies to trigger biosynthetic pathways to yield "cryptic natural products" through external cues, co-cultivation and genomic approaches such as genome-mining, epigenetic remodeling, and engineered pathway activation.
Related Concept Videos
Biosynthesis in Bacteria
Production of Antibiotics
Amino Acid Biosynthetic Pathways
Evolution of New Traits in Microbes
iChip
Synthetic Biology
Golden rice
Golden rice is a genetically modified...
