Hitherto Unknown Terpene Synthase Organization in Taxol-Producing Endophytic Bacteria Isolated from Marine Macroalgae

Taxol is a successful anti-cancer drug, which extensively studied in Taxus spp. However, microbial endophytes also reported as taxol producers, and especially fungal endophytes extensively studied for the taxol biosynthesis pathway. Although it was well considered, the taxol biosynthesis pathway remains undisclosed since its discovery in bacteria. To decipher this gap, we isolated and identified the endophytic bacteria such as Bacillus flexus strain DMTMMB08, Bacillus licheniformis strain DMTMMB10, and Oceanobacillus picturae strain DMTMMB24, which are unprecedented for taxol production. Subsequently, the genome annotation of these bacteria exhibited the isoprene biosynthesis pathway and terpene synthase profile. Feasibly, this is the very first report on taxol-producing endophytic bacteria from the non-Taxus host and solitary investigation on its genome analysis. The genomic insight into the bacterial system for taxol biosynthesis leads to understanding the terpene synthesis and evolution. This piece of work could expand our perception of the diversity of terpenes and their related natural products.