Forty years of genetics with Streptomyces: from in vivo through in vitro to in silico

A putative transglycosylase encoded by SCO4132 influences morphological differentiation and actinorhodin production in Streptomyces coelicolor

Here we report that tgdA, a novel gene encoding a putative transglycosylase, affects both the morphological differentiation and the yield of blue-pigmented compound actinorhodin in Streptomyces coelicolor. The tgdA null mutant displays sparse aerial hyphae and irregular spore chains frequently lacking chromosomal DNA. Elevated actinorhodin production coincides with the overexpression of actII-orf4 in mutant. tgdA expression is temporally and developmentally regulated. The tgdA orthologs in Streptomyces avermilitis and Streptomyces lividans also affect differentiation.

Structure-function relationships of two paralogous single-stranded DNA-binding proteins from Streptomyces coelicolor: implication of SsbB in chromosome segregation during sporulation

The linear chromosome of Streptomyces coelicolor contains two paralogous ssb genes, ssbA and ssbB. Following mutational analysis, we concluded that ssbA is essential, whereas ssbB plays a key role in chromosome segregation during sporulation. In the ssbB mutant, ∼30% of spores lacked DNA. The two ssb genes were expressed differently; in minimal medium, gene expression was prolonged for both genes and significantly upregulated for ssbB. The ssbA gene is transcribed as part of a polycistronic mRNA from two initiation sites, 163 bp and 75 bp upstream of the rpsF translational start codon. The ssbB gene is transcribed as a monocistronic mRNA, from an unusual promoter region, 73 bp upstream of the AUG codon. Distinctive DNA-binding affinities of single-stranded DNA-binding proteins monitored by tryptophan fluorescent quenching and electrophoretic mobility shift were observed. The crystal structure of SsbB at 1.7 Å resolution revealed a common OB-fold, lack of the clamp-like structure conserved in SsbA and previously unpublished S-S bridges between the A/B and C/D subunits. This is the first report of the determination of paralogous single-stranded DNA-binding protein structures from the same organism. Phylogenetic analysis revealed frequent duplication of ssb genes in Actinobacteria, whereas their strong retention suggests that they are involved in important cellular functions.

The transcriptional regulator TamR from Streptomyces coelicolor controls a key step in central metabolism during oxidative stress

Multiple antibiotic resistance regulator (MarR) family transcriptional regulators usually regulate gene activity by responding to specific ligands. Here we show that TamR (trans-aconitate methyltransferase regulator), a MarR homologue from Streptomyces coelicolor, functions in oxidative stress responses to regulate a key step in central metabolism. The gene encoding TamR is oriented divergently from the tam gene, which encodes trans-aconitate methyltransferase. Trans-aconitate methyltransferase methylates trans-aconitate, which is formed when cis-aconitate is released during aconitase-mediated isomerization of citrate to isocitrate; trans-aconitate, but not its methyl ester, is a potent inhibitor of aconitase. We show that TamR binds with high affinity to the intergenic region between the tamR and tam genes. Notably, trans-aconitate attenuates DNA-binding by TamR, as do citrate, cis-aconitate and isocitrate, which are the substrate, intermediate and product of aconitase respectively. In vivo, hydrogen peroxide and citrate induce significant upregulation of the tam (SCO3132), tamR (SCO3133) and aconitase (SCO5999) genes. Since oxidative stress leads to disassembly of the [4Fe-4S] cluster that is essential for aconitase activity, resulting in accumulation of citrate and release of cis-aconitate and its subsequent conversion to trans-aconitate, we propose that TamR mediates a novel regulatory function in which the inhibitory effects of trans-aconitate and accumulated citrate are alleviated.

The ROK family regulator Rok7B7 pleiotropically affects xylose utilization, carbon catabolite repression, and antibiotic production in streptomyces coelicolor

Members of the ROK family of proteins are mostly transcriptional regulators and kinases that generally relate to the control of primary metabolism, whereby its member glucose kinase acts as the central control protein in carbon control in Streptomyces. Here, we show that deletion of SCO6008 (rok7B7) strongly affects carbon catabolite repression (CCR), growth, and antibiotic production in Streptomyces coelicolor. Deletion of SCO7543 also affected antibiotic production, while no major changes were observed after deletion of the rok family genes SCO0794, SCO1060, SCO2846, SCO6566, or SCO6600. Global expression profiling of the rok7B7 mutant by proteomics and microarray analysis revealed strong upregulation of the xylose transporter operon xylFGH, which lies immediately downstream of rok7B7, consistent with the improved growth and delayed development of the mutant on xylose. The enhanced CCR, which was especially obvious on rich or xylose-containing media, correlated with elevated expression of glucose kinase and of the glucose transporter GlcP. In liquid-grown cultures, expression of the biosynthetic enzymes for production of prodigionines, siderophores, and calcium-dependent antibiotic (CDA) was enhanced in the mutant, and overproduction of prodigionines was corroborated by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight analysis. These data present Rok7B7 as a pleiotropic regulator of growth, CCR, and antibiotic production in Streptomyces.

Essential role of an unknown gene aziU3 in the production of antitumor antibiotic azinomycin B verified by utilizing optimized genetic manipulation systems for Streptomyces sahachiroi

Streptomyces sahachiroi ATCC 33158 produces the potent antitumor antibiotic azinomycin B, which is featured with a set of unusual functionalized moieties. However, the genetic analyses of azinomycin B biosynthetic pathway are hampered by the low efficiency of S. sahachiroi genetic manipulation. In this study, we developed two efficient DNA transfer systems for S. sahachiroi ATCC 33158 by optimizing a variety of parameters known to affect intergeneric conjugation and protoplast transformation. High efficiencies of 4 × 10(2) transformants per μg DNA and 2.47 × 10(-4) conjugants per recipient were achieved when using the integrative vector pJTU2554. With the use of these improved genetic manipulation systems, aziU3 was discovered to play a key role in the biosynthesis of azinomycin B. In-frame deletion and complementation experiments demonstrated clearly that aziU3 is essential for azinomycin B biosynthesis. Changing the native promoter and insertion of an additional aziU3 gene copy resulted in two mutant strains over-producing azinomycin B. Real-time PCR verified that overexpression of aziU3 significantly improved the azinomycin B production in these mutant strains.

Diversity of P450 enzymes in the biosynthesis of natural products

Diverse oxygenation patterns of natural products generated by secondary metabolic pathways in microorganisms and plants are largely achieved through the tailoring reactions catalysed by cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450s). P450s are a large family of oxidative hemoproteins found in all life forms from prokaryotes to humans. Understanding the reactivity and selectivity of these fascinating C-H bond-activating catalysts will advance their use in generating valuable pharmaceuticals and products for medicine, agriculture and industry. A major strength of this P450 group is its set of established enzyme-substrate relationships, the source of the most detailed knowledge on how P450 enzymes work. Engineering microbial-derived P450 enzymes to accommodate alternative substrates and add new functions continues to be an important near- and long-term practical goal driving the structural characterization of these molecules. Understanding the natural evolution of P450 structure-function should accelerate metabolic engineering and directed evolutionary approaches to enhance diversification of natural product structures and other biosynthetic applications.

Diverse control of metabolism and other cellular processes in Streptomyces coelicolor by the PhoP transcription factor: genome-wide identification of in vivo targets

Streptomycetes sense and respond to the stress of phosphate starvation via the two-component PhoR–PhoP signal transduction system. To identify the in vivo targets of PhoP we have undertaken a chromatin-immunoprecipitation-on-microarray analysis of wild-type and phoP mutant cultures and, in parallel, have quantified their transcriptomes. Most (ca. 80%) of the previously in vitro characterized PhoP targets were identified in this study among several hundred other putative novel PhoP targets. In addition to activating genes for phosphate scavenging systems PhoP was shown to target two gene clusters for cell wall/extracellular polymer biosynthesis. Furthermore PhoP was found to repress an unprecedented range of pathways upon entering phosphate limitation including nitrogen assimilation, oxidative phosphorylation, nucleotide biosynthesis and glycogen catabolism. Moreover, PhoP was shown to target many key genes involved in antibiotic production and morphological differentiation, including afsS, atrA, bldA, bldC, bldD, bldK, bldM, cdaR, cdgA, cdgB and scbR-scbA. Intriguingly, in the PhoP-dependent cpk polyketide gene cluster, PhoP accumulates substantially at three specific sites within the giant polyketide synthase-encoding genes. This study suggests that, following phosphate limitation, Streptomyces coelicolor PhoP functions as a ‘master’ regulator, suppressing central metabolism, secondary metabolism and developmental pathways until sufficient phosphate is salvaged to support further growth and, ultimately, morphological development.

Optimized submerged batch fermentation strategy for systems scale studies of metabolic switching in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

BACKGROUND

Systems biology approaches to study metabolic switching in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) depend on cultivation conditions ensuring high reproducibility and distinct phases of culture growth and secondary metabolite production. In addition, biomass concentrations must be sufficiently high to allow for extensive time-series sampling before occurrence of a given nutrient depletion for transition triggering. The present study describes for the first time the development of a dedicated optimized submerged batch fermentation strategy as the basis for highly time-resolved systems biology studies of metabolic switching in S. coelicolor A3(2).

RESULTS

By a step-wise approach, cultivation conditions and two fully defined cultivation media were developed and evaluated using strain M145 of S. coelicolor A3(2), providing a high degree of cultivation reproducibility and enabling reliable studies of the effect of phosphate depletion and L-glutamate depletion on the metabolic transition to antibiotic production phase. Interestingly, both of the two carbon sources provided, D-glucose and L-glutamate, were found to be necessary in order to maintain high growth rates and prevent secondary metabolite production before nutrient depletion. Comparative analysis of batch cultivations with (i) both L-glutamate and D-glucose in excess, (ii) L-glutamate depletion and D-glucose in excess, (iii) L-glutamate as the sole source of carbon and (iv) D-glucose as the sole source of carbon, reveal a complex interplay of the two carbon sources in the bacterium's central carbon metabolism.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study presents for the first time a dedicated cultivation strategy fulfilling the requirements for systems biology studies of metabolic switching in S. coelicolor A3(2). Key results from labelling and cultivation experiments on either or both of the two carbon sources provided indicate that in the presence of D-glucose, L-glutamate was the preferred carbon source, while D-glucose alone appeared incapable of maintaining culture growth, likely due to a metabolic bottleneck at the oxidation of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA.

Structural analysis of cytochrome P450 105N1 involved in the biosynthesis of the zincophore, coelibactin

Coelibactin is a putative non-ribosomally synthesized peptide with predicted zincophore activity and which has been implicated in antibiotic regulation in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). The coelibactin biosynthetic pathway contains a stereo- and regio-specific monooxygenation step catalyzed by a cytochrome P450 enzyme (CYP105N1). We have determined the X-ray crystal structure of CYP105N1 at 2.9 Å and analyzed it in the context of the bacterial CYP105 family as a whole. The crystal structure reveals a channel between the α-helical domain and the β-sheet domain exposing the heme pocket and the long helix I to the solvent. This wide-open conformation of CYP105N1 may be related to the bulky substrate coelibactin. The ligand-free CYP105N1 structure has enough room in the substrate access channel to allow the coelibactin to enter into the active site. Analysis of typical siderophore ligands suggests that CYP105N1 may produce derivatives of coelibactin, which would then be able to chelate the zinc divalent cation.

LAL regulators SCO0877 and SCO7173 as pleiotropic modulators of phosphate starvation response and actinorhodin biosynthesis in Streptomyces coelicolor

LAL regulators (Large ATP-binding regulators of the LuxR family) constitute a poorly studied family of transcriptional regulators. Several regulators of this class have been identified in antibiotic and other secondary metabolite gene clusters from actinomycetes, thus they have been considered pathway-specific regulators. In this study we have obtained two disruption mutants of LAL genes from S. coelicolor (Δ0877 and Δ7173). Both mutants were deficient in the production of the polyketide antibiotic actinorhodin, and antibiotic production was restored upon gene complementation of the mutants. The use of whole-genome DNA microarrays and quantitative PCRs enabled the analysis of the transcriptome of both mutants in comparison with the wild type. Our results indicate that the LAL regulators under study act globally affecting various cellular processes, and amongst them the phosphate starvation response and the biosynthesis of the blue-pigmented antibiotic actinorhodin. Both regulators act as negative modulators of the expression of the two-component phoRP system and as positive regulators of actinorhodin biosynthesis. To our knowledge this is the first characterization of LAL regulators with wide implications in Streptomyces metabolism.

Investigating conservation of the albaflavenone biosynthetic pathway and CYP170 bifunctionality in streptomycetes

Albaflavenone, a tricyclic sesquiterpene antibiotic, is biosynthesized in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) by enzymes encoded in a two-gene operon. Initially, sesquiterpene cyclase catalyzes the cyclization of farnesyl diphosphate to the terpenoid epi-isozizaene, which is oxidized to the final albaflavenone by cytochrome P450 (CYP)170A1. Additionally, this CYP is a bifunctional enzyme, being able to also generate farnesene isomers from farnesyl diphosphate, owing to a terpene synthase active site moonlighting on the CYP molecule. To explore the functionality of this operon in other streptomycetes, we have examined culture extracts by GC/MS and established the presence of albaflavenone in five Streptomyces species. Bioinformatics examination of the predicted CYP170 primary amino acid sequences revealed substitutions in the CYP terpene synthase active site. To examine whether the terpene synthase site was catalytically active in another CYP170, we characterized the least related CYP170 orthologue from Streptomyces albus (CYP170B1). Following expression and purification, CYP170B1 showed a normal reduced CO difference spectrum at 450 nm, in contrast to the unusual 440-nm peak observed for S. coelicolor A3(2) CYP170A1. CYP170B1 can catalyze the conversion of epi-isozizaene to albaflavenone, but was unable to catalyze the conversion of farnesyl diphosphate to farnesene. Molecular modeling with our crystal structure of CYP170A1 suggests that the absence of key amino acids for binding the essential terpene synthase cofactor Mg(2+) may be the explanation for the loss of CYP170B1 bifunctionality.

Characterization of a new ScbR-like γ-butyrolactone binding regulator (SlbR) in Streptomyces coelicolor

γ-Butyrolactones in Streptomyces are well recognized as bacterial hormones, and they affect secondary metabolism of Streptomyces. γ-Butyrolactone receptors are considered important regulatory proteins, and various γ-butyrolactone synthases and receptors have been reported in Streptomyces. Here, we characterized a new regulator, SCO0608, that interacted with SCB1 (γ-butyrolactone of Streptomyces coelicolor) and bound to the scbR/A and adpA promoters. The SCO0608 protein sequences are not similar to those of any known γ-butyrolactone binding proteins in Streptomyces such as ScbR from S. coelicolor or ArpA from Streptomyces griseus. Interestingly, SCO0608 functions as a repressor of antibiotic biosynthesis and spore formation in R5 complex media. We showed the existence of another type of γ-butyrolactone receptor in Streptomyces, and this SCO0608 was named ScbR-like γ-butyrolactone binding regulator (SlbR) in S. coelicolor.

Development of a gene cloning system in a fast-growing and moderately thermophilic Streptomyces species and heterologous expression of Streptomyces antibiotic biosynthetic gene clusters

BACKGROUND

Streptomyces species are a major source of antibiotics. They usually grow slowly at their optimal temperature and fermentation of industrial strains in a large scale often takes a long time, consuming more energy and materials than some other bacterial industrial strains (e.g., E. coli and Bacillus). Most thermophilic Streptomyces species grow fast, but no gene cloning systems have been developed in such strains.

RESULTS

We report here the isolation of 41 fast-growing (about twice the rate of S. coelicolor), moderately thermophilic (growing at both 30°C and 50°C) Streptomyces strains, detection of one linear and three circular plasmids in them, and sequencing of a 6996-bp plasmid, pTSC1, from one of them. pTSC1-derived pCWH1 could replicate in both thermophilic and mesophilic Streptomyces strains. On the other hand, several Streptomyces replicons function in thermophilic Streptomyces species. By examining ten well-sporulating strains, we found two promising cloning hosts, 2C and 4F. A gene cloning system was established by using the two strains. The actinorhodin and anthramycin biosynthetic gene clusters from mesophilic S. coelicolor A3(2) and thermophilic S. refuineus were heterologously expressed in one of the hosts.

CONCLUSIONS

We have developed a gene cloning and expression system in a fast-growing and moderately thermophilic Streptomyces species. Although just a few plasmids and one antibiotic biosynthetic gene cluster from mesophilic Streptomyces were successfully expressed in thermophilic Streptomyces species, we expect that by utilizing thermophilic Streptomyces-specific promoters, more genes and especially antibiotic genes clusters of mesophilic Streptomyces should be heterologously expressed.

Chitin stimulates production of the antibiotic andrimid in a Vibrio coralliilyticus strain

Vibrio coralliilyticus is a putative coral pathogen in tropical oceans, but also possesses antagonistic traits. We previously reported antibacterial activity in Vibrio coralliilyticus strain S2052 based upon the antibiotic andrimid. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether V. coralliilyticus S2052 produces the antibiotic under conditions mimicking natural habitats of vibrios. S2052 synthesized andrimid with both chitin and macroalgal extracts as sole nutrient source. With chitin, the biosynthesis of metabolites other than andrimid was largely abolished, and the yield of the antibiotic per cell was twofold higher. In cultures with Artemia as live chitin model system, S2052 reached up to 10(8)  cells ml(-1) , produced andrimid and showed attachment to the exoskeleton and chitinous exuviae. The metabolic focus on andrimid production with chitin indicates that the antibiotic could serve an ecophysiological function. S2052 was compared with two related V. coralliilyticus strains (LMG20984(T) and LMG10953). Despite overall similar secondary metabolomes, LMG20984(T) and LMG10953 did not produce andrimid, and their optimum biosynthetic temperature was 30 as compared with 25°C for S2052. In addition, S2052 appeared less pathogenic towards Artemia than reported for the type strain. Different physiologies of S2052 and closely related strains indicated that V. coralliilyticus subspecies may be adapted to different niches.

The -omics Era- Toward a Systems-Level Understanding of Streptomyces

Streptomyces is a group of soil bacteria of medicinal, economic, ecological, and industrial importance. It is renowned for its complex biology in gene regulation, antibiotic production, morphological differentiation, and stress response. In this review, we provide an overview of the recent advances in Streptomyces biology inspired by -omics based high throughput technologies. In this post-genomic era, vast amounts of data have been integrated to provide significant new insights into the fundamental mechanisms of system control and regulation dynamics of Streptomyces.

SabR enhances nikkomycin production via regulating the transcriptional level of sanG, a pathway-specific regulatory gene in Streptomyces ansochromogenes

BACKGROUND

sabR is a pleiotropic regulatory gene which has been shown to positively regulate the nikkomycin biosynthesis and negatively affect the sporulation of Streptomyces ansochromogenes. In this study, we investigate the mechanism of SabR on modulating nikkomycin production in Streptomyces ansochromogenes.

RESULTS

The transcription start point of sabR was determined by high-resolution S1 nuclease mapping and localized at the nucleotide T at position 37 bp upstream of the potential sabR translation start codon (GTG). Disruption of sabR enhanced its own transcription, but retarded the nikkomycin production. Over-expression of sabR enhanced nikkomycin biosynthesis in Streptomyces ansochromogenes. EMSA analysis showed that SabR bound to the upstream region of sanG, but it did not bind to the upstream region of its encoding gene (sabR), sanF and the intergenic region between sanN and sanO. DNase 1 footprinting assays showed that the SabR-binding site upstream of sanG was 5'-CTTTAAGTCACCTGGCTCATTCGCGTTCGCCCAGCT-3' which was designated as SARE. Deletion of SARE resulted in the delay of nikkomycin production that was similar to that of sabR disruption mutant.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicated that SabR modulated nikkomycin biosynthesis as an enhancer via interaction with the promoter region of sanG, and expanded our understanding about regulatory cascade in nikkomycin biosynthesis.

The regulation of the secondary metabolism of Streptomyces: new links and experimental advances

Streptomycetes and other actinobacteria are renowned as a rich source of natural products of clinical, agricultural and biotechnological value. They are being mined with renewed vigour, supported by genome sequencing efforts, which have revealed a coding capacity for secondary metabolites in vast excess of expectations that were based on the detection of antibiotic activities under standard laboratory conditions. Here we review what is known about the control of production of so-called secondary metabolites in streptomycetes, with an emphasis on examples where details of the underlying regulatory mechanisms are known. Intriguing links between nutritional regulators, primary and secondary metabolism and morphological development are discussed, and new data are included on the carbon control of development and antibiotic production, and on aspects of the regulation of the biosynthesis of microbial hormones. Given the tide of antibiotic resistance emerging in pathogens, this review is peppered with approaches that may expand the screening of streptomycetes for new antibiotics by awakening expression of cryptic antibiotic biosynthetic genes. New technologies are also described that have potential to greatly further our understanding of gene regulation in what is an area fertile for discovery and exploitation

An orphan histidine kinase, OhkA, regulates both secondary metabolism and morphological differentiation in Streptomyces coelicolor

We report here the physiological and genetic characterization of an orphan histidine kinase (HK) (OhkA, SCO1596) in Streptomyces coelicolor and its homolog (OhkAsav, SAV_6741) in Streptomyces avermitilis. The physiological analysis showed that the ohkA mutant of S. coelicolor exhibits impaired aerial mycelium formation and sporulation and overproduction of multiple antibiotics on mannitol-soy flour (MS) medium, especially actinorhodin (ACT) and calcium-dependent antibiotic (CDA), and disruption of ohkAsav in S. avermitilis also led to the similar phenotypes of impaired morphological differentiation and significantly increased oligomycin A production. DNA microarray analysis combined with real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and RNA dot blot assay in the S. coelicolor ohkA deletion mutant confirmed the physiological results by showing the upregulation of genes involved in the biosynthesis of ACT, CDA, undecylprodigiosin (RED), a yellow type I polyketide (CPK, SCO6273-6289), and a sesquiterpene antibiotic, albaflavenone (SCO5222-5223). The results also suggested that the increased production of ACT and RED in the mutant could be partly ascribed to the enhanced precursor malonyl coenzyme A (malonyl-CoA) supply through increased transcription of genes encoding acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase). Interestingly, DNA microarray analysis also showed that deletion of ohkA greatly downregulated the transcription of chpABCDEFGH genes essential for aerial mycelium formation by S. coelicolor on MS medium but significantly increased transcription of ramS/C/R, which is responsible for SapB formation and regulation and is normally absent on MS medium. Moreover, many other genes involved in development, such as bldM/N, whiG/H/I, ssgA/B/E/G/R, and whiE, were also significantly downregulated upon ohkA deletion. The results clearly demonstrated that OhkA is an important global regulator for both morphological differentiation and secondary metabolism in S. coelicolor and S. avermitilis.

tRNA accumulation and suppression of the bldA phenotype during development in Streptomyces coelicolor

Streptomyces coelicolor undergoes distinct morphological changes as it grows on solid media where spores differentiate into vegetative and aerial mycelium that is followed by the production of spores. Deletion of bldA, encoding the rare tRNA(Leu) UAA, blocks development at the stage of vegetative mycelium formation. From previous data it appears that tRNA(Leu) UAA accumulates relatively late during growth while two other tRNAs do not. Here, we studied the expression of 17 different tRNAs including bldA tRNA, and the RNA subunit of the tRNA processing endoribonuclease RNase P. Our results showed that all selected tRNAs and RNase P RNA increased with time during development. However, accumulation of bldA tRNA and another rare tRNA(Leu) isoacceptor started at an earlier stage compared with the other tRNAs. We also introduced the bldA tRNA anticodon (UAA) into other tRNAs and introduced these into a bldA deletion strain. In particular, one such mutant tRNA derived from the tRNA(Leu) CAA isoacceptor suppressed the bldA phenotype. Thus, the bldA tRNA scaffold is not critical for function as a regulator of S. coelicolor cell differentiation. Further substitution experiments, in which the 5'- and 3'-flanking regions of the suppressor tRNA were changed, indicated that these regions were important for the suppression.

Transcriptome analysis of an antibiotic downregulator mutant and synergistic Actinorhodin stimulation via disruption of a precursor flux regulator in Streptomyces coelicolor

Through microarray analysis of an antibiotic-downregulator-deleted Streptomyces coelicolor ΔwblA ΔSCO1712 mutant, 28 wblA- and SCO1712-dependent genes were identified and characterized. Among 14 wblA- and SCO1712-independent genes, a carbon flux regulating 6-phosphofructokinase SCO5426 was additionally disrupted in the ΔwblA ΔSCO1712 mutant and further stimulated actinorhodin production in S. coelicolor, implying that both regulatory and precursor flux pathways could be synergistically optimized for antibiotic production.

In silico analysis highlights the frequency and diversity of type 1 lantibiotic gene clusters in genome sequenced bacteria

BACKGROUND

Lantibiotics are lanthionine-containing, post-translationally modified antimicrobial peptides. These peptides have significant, but largely untapped, potential as preservatives and chemotherapeutic agents. Type 1 lantibiotics are those in which lanthionine residues are introduced into the structural peptide (LanA) through the activity of separate lanthionine dehydratase (LanB) and lanthionine synthetase (LanC) enzymes. Here we take advantage of the conserved nature of LanC enzymes to devise an in silico approach to identify potential lantibiotic-encoding gene clusters in genome sequenced bacteria.

RESULTS

In total 49 novel type 1 lantibiotic clusters were identified which unexpectedly were associated with species, genera and even phyla of bacteria which have not previously been associated with lantibiotic production.

CONCLUSIONS

Multiple type 1 lantibiotic gene clusters were identified at a frequency that suggests that these antimicrobials are much more widespread than previously thought. These clusters represent a rich repository which can yield a large number of valuable novel antimicrobials and biosynthetic enzymes.

Promotion of markerless deletion of the actinorhodin biosynthetic gene cluster in Streptomyces coelicolor

The standard gene disruption and replacement to delete the actinorhodin biosynthetic gene cluster (Act) in Streptomyces coelicolor was inefficient, and the polymerase chain reaction-targeting of the cosmid could efficiently delete the Act, but still was a time-consuming procedure for markerless gene replacement. By using optimal Streptomyces codons, we synthesized a sceS gene encoding identical amino acid sequence as the chromosome rare-cutting meganuclease I-sce I of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondria. Expression of sceS gene in S. coelicolor resulted in promotion of homologous recombination and subsequently, successful achieved markerless deletion of the Act. The sceS system may be useful for the sequential markerless deletions of chromosomal segments in Streptomyces.

Production of microbial secondary metabolites: regulation by the carbon source

Microbial secondary metabolites are low molecular mass products, not essential for growth of the producing cultures, but very important for human health. They include antibiotics, antitumor agents, cholesterol-lowering drugs, and others. They have unusual structures and are usually formed during the late growth phase of the producing microorganisms. Its synthesis can be influenced greatly by manipulating the type and concentration of the nutrients formulating the culture media. Among these nutrients, the effect of the carbon sources has been the subject of continuous studies for both, industry and research groups. Different mechanisms have been described in bacteria and fungi to explain the negative carbon catabolite effects on secondary metabolite production. Their knowledge and manipulation have been useful either for setting fermentation conditions or for strain improvement. During the last years, important advances have been reported on these mechanisms at the biochemical and molecular levels. The aim of the present review is to describe these advances, giving special emphasis to those reported for the genus Streptomyces.

Genomic basis for natural product biosynthetic diversity in the actinomycetes

The phylum Actinobacteria hosts diverse high G + C, Gram-positive bacteria that have evolved a complex chemical language of natural product chemistry to help navigate their fascinatingly varied lifestyles. To date, 71 Actinobacteria genomes have been completed and annotated, with the vast majority representing the Actinomycetales, which are the source of numerous antibiotics and other drugs from genera such as Streptomyces, Saccharopolyspora and Salinispora . These genomic analyses have illuminated the secondary metabolic proficiency of these microbes – underappreciated for years based on conventional isolation programs – and have helped set the foundation for a new natural product discovery paradigm based on genome mining. Trends in the secondary metabolomes of natural product-rich actinomycetes are highlighted in this review article, which contains 199 references.

Characterization of the methyl-specific restriction system of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) and of the role played by laterally acquired nucleases

The methyl-specific restriction system of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) was analyzed by carrying out transformations with unmethylated and methylated pSET152 DNA. Streptomyces coelicolor was found to strongly restrict DNA methylated in vivo by the Dam, Dcm and Hsd modification systems of Escherichia coli. Hsd-modified DNA was restricted as strongly as Dam-modified DNA, even though there are significantly fewer sites on the plasmid; Dcm-modified plasmid was restricted more strongly then either Dam- or Hsd-modified DNA. Restriction of plasmid DNA modified in vitro by different methylases also showed a greater dependence on the methylated sequence than on the number of methylated sites. Streptomyces coelicolor mutants were constructed that lacked genes identified as the likely candidates for encoding methyl-specific restriction nucleases (the products of the SCO4213, SCO4631 and SCO2863 genes, as well as the SCO3261-SCO3262 operon) that are located in the laterally acquired genomic islands of the S. coelicolor chromosome; these mutants showed partial alleviation of methylated DNA restriction. Cloning of these genes in the close relative Streptomyces lividans increased the restriction of methylated DNA by this species, confirming their role as part of the methyl-specific restriction system of S. coelicolor.

cmdABCDEF, a cluster of genes encoding membrane proteins for differentiation and antibiotic production in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

Background

Streptomyces coelicolor is the most studied Streptomyces species and an excellent model for studying differentiation and antibiotic production. To date, many genes have been identified to be required for its differentiation (e.g. bld genes for aerial growth and whi genes for sporulation) and antibiotics production (including actII-orf4, redD, cdaR as pathway-specific regulatory genes and afsR, absA1/A2 as pleiotropic regulatory genes).

Results

A gene cluster containing six genes (SCO4126-4131) was proved to be co-transcribed in S. coelicolor. Deletions of cmdABCDEF (SCO4126-4131) displayed defective sporulation including formation of aberrant branches, and abnormalities in chromosome segregation and spore septation. Disruption mutants of apparently orthologous genes of S. lividans and S. avermitilis also showed defective sporulation, implying that the role of these genes is similar among Streptomyces. Transcription of cmdB, and therefore presumably of the whole operon, was regulated developmentally. Five of the encoded proteins (CmdA, C, D, E, F) were predicted membrane proteins. The other, CmdB, a predicted ATP/GTP-binding protein with an ABC-transporter-ATPase domain shown here to be essential for its function, was also located on the cell membrane. These results indicate that CmdABCDEF proteins mainly affect Streptomyces differentiation at an early stage of aerial hyphae formation, and suggest that these proteins may form a complex on cell membrane for proper segregation of chromosomes. In addition, deletions of cmdABCDEF also revealed over-production of blue-pigmented actinorhodin (Act) via activation of transcription of the pathway-specific regulatory gene actII-orf4 of actinorhodin biosynthesis.

Conclusion

In this study, six co-transcribed genes cmdABCDEF were identified by their effects on differentiation and antibiotic production in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). These six membrane-located proteins are possibly assembled into a complex to function.

A novel protein that binds to dnrN-dnrO intergenic region of Streptomyces peucetius purified by DNA affinity capture has dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase activity

An antitumour chemotherapeutic, daunorubicin (DNR), produced by Streptomyces peucetius exhibits cytotoxic activity through topoisomerase-mediated interaction with DNA, thereby inhibiting DNA replication and repair and RNA and protein synthesis. It is synthesized by the type II polyketide pathway. Understanding molecular mechanisms that drive expression of antibiotic biosynthetic genes in response to diverse signals and chemical inducers is of considerable interest. Intergenic DNA between regulatory genes dnrN and dnrO of DNR biosynthesis pathway in S. peucetius has a promoter for transcription of dnrN in one strand and three promoters in the opposite strand for dnrO. Studies have shown that DnrO binds to a specific sequence in this region to activate transcription of dnrN. In the present study, using biotinylated intergenic DNA in combination with streptavidin magnetic beads, we have purified a protein that binds to this target sequence. The protein has been characterized by nano LC ESI MS/MS mass spectrometry. Sequence similarity searches for effective identification of protein by genome databases comparisons led to identification of a sequence-specific DNA binding protein that exhibits dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DLDH) activity suggesting that this protein may be involved in regulation of DNR biosynthesis.

Strategies for the discovery of new natural products by genome mining

Natural products have a very broad spectrum of applications. Many natural products are used clinically as antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, anticancer and immunosuppressive agents and are therefore of utmost importance for our society. When in the 1940s the golden age of antibiotics was ushered in, a "gold rush fever" of natural product discovery in the pharmaceutical industry ensued for many decades. However, the traditional process of discovering new bioactive natural products is generally long and laborious, and known natural products are frequently rediscovered. A mass-withdrawal of pharmaceutical companies from new natural product discovery and natural products research has thus occurred in recent years. In this article, the concept of genome mining for novel natural product discovery, which promises to provide a myriad of new bioactive natural compounds, is summarized and discussed. Genome mining for new natural product discovery exploits the huge and constantly increasing quantity of DNA sequence data from a wide variety of organisms that is accumulating in publicly accessible databases. Genes encoding enzymes likely to be involved in natural product biosynthesis can be readily located in sequenced genomes by use of computational sequence comparison tools. This information can be exploited in a variety of ways in the search for new bioactive natural products.

Cross-talk between an orphan response regulator and a noncognate histidine kinase in Streptomyces coelicolor

Two-component systems (TCSs), typically consisting of a histidine kinase (HK) and a cognate response regulator (RR), are the most common signaling systems in bacteria. Besides paired genes encoding TCSs, there also exists unpaired HKs and orphan RRs. In Streptomyces coelicolor, 13 orphan RRs have been annotated. Because of lack of cognate HKs, little is known as yet about the regulation of orphan RRs. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that several orphan RRs had high amino acid sequence identities with RRs from typical TCSs in S. coelicolor. Among them, the orphan RR SCO3818 and RR SCO0204, which paired with HK SCO0203, showed the highest identity (65%), suggesting that the two RRs might both be under the regulation of SCO0203. Following studies showed that SCO0203 could phosphorylate not only SCO0204 but also SCO3818. Deletion of either sco0203 or sco3818 led to enhanced production of blue-pigmented antibiotic actinorhodin, which indicated a functional correlation between SCO0203 and SCO3818. These results suggested that SCO3818 might be regulated by SCO0203. This is the first report describing the regulation of an orphan RR by an HK. Moreover, this is also the first identification of cross-talk between different TCS components in S. coelicolor.

NdgR, an IclR-like regulator involved in amino-acid-dependent growth, quorum sensing, and antibiotic production in Streptomyces coelicolor

NdgR (regulator for nitrogen source-dependent growth and antibiotic production), an IclR-like regulator, has been initially identified as a binding protein to the promoters of doxorubicin biosynthetic genes in Streptomyces peucetius by DNA affinity capture assay method. NdgR is well conserved throughout the Streptomyces species and many other bacteria such as Mycobacteria and Corynebacteria. In Streptomyces coelicolor, ndgR deletion mutant showed slow cell growth and defects in differentiation and enhances the production of actinorhodin (ACT) in minimal media containing certain amino acids where wild-type strain could not produce ACT. Although deletion mutant of ndgR showed different antibiotic production in minimal media containing Leu or Gln, it only showed reduced mRNA expression levels of the genes involved in leucine metabolism. Neither NdgR-dependent expression of glnA nor direct binding of NdgR protein to glnA, glnII, and glnR promoters was observed. However, ScbR, which is governed by NdgR shown by gel mobility shift assay, binds to promoter of glnR, suggesting indirect regulation of glutamine metabolism by NdgR. NdgR protein binds to intergenic region of ndgR-leuC, and scbR-scbA involved in gamma-butyrolactone. Two-dimensional gel analysis has shown a global effect of ndgR deletion in protein expression, including up-regulated proteins involved in ACT synthesis and down-regulation of chaperones such as GroEL, GroES, and DnaK. These results suggest a global regulatory role for NdgR in amino acid metabolisms, quorum sensing, morphological changes, antibiotic production, and expression of chaperonines in S. coelicolor.

The SsgA-like proteins in actinomycetes: small proteins up to a big task

Several unique protein families have been identified that play a role in the control of developmental cell division in streptomycetes. The SsgA-like proteins or SALPs, of which streptomycetes typically have at least five paralogues, control specific steps of sporulation-specific cell division in streptomycetes, affecting cell wall-related events such as septum localization and synthesis, thickening of the spore wall and autolytic spore separation. The expression level of SsgA, the best studied SALP, has a rather dramatic effect on septation and on hyphal morphology, which is not only of relevance for our understanding of (developmental) cell division but has also been successfully applied in industrial fermentation, to improve growth and production of filamentous actinomycetes. Recent observations suggest that SsgB most likely is the archetypal SALP, with only SsgB orthologues occurring in all morphologically complex actinomycetes. Here we review 10 years of research on the SsgA-like proteins in actinomycetes and discuss the most interesting regulatory, functional, phylogenetic and applied aspects of this relatively unknown protein family.

Feast or famine: the global regulator DasR links nutrient stress to antibiotic production by Streptomyces

Members of the soil-dwelling prokaryotic genus Streptomyces produce many secondary metabolites, including antibiotics and anti-tumour agents. Their formation is coupled with the onset of development, which is triggered by the nutrient status of the habitat. We propose the first complete signalling cascade from nutrient sensing to development and antibiotic biosynthesis. We show that a high concentration of N-acetylglucosamine-perhaps mimicking the accumulation of N-acetylglucosamine after autolytic degradation of the vegetative mycelium-is a major checkpoint for the onset of secondary metabolism. The response is transmitted to antibiotic pathway-specific activators through the pleiotropic transcriptional repressor DasR, the regulon of which also includes all N-acetylglucosamine-related catabolic genes. The results allowed us to devise a new strategy for activating pathways for secondary metabolite biosynthesis. Such 'cryptic' pathways are abundant in actinomycete genomes, thereby offering new prospects in the fight against multiple drug-resistant pathogens and cancers.

A cellulose synthase-like protein involved in hyphal tip growth and morphological differentiation in streptomyces

Cellulose synthase and cellulose synthase-like proteins, responsible for synthesizing beta-glucan-containing polysaccharides, play a fundamental role in cellular architectures, such as plant cell and tissue morphogenesis, bacterial biofilm formation, and fruiting-body development. However, the roles of the proteins involved in the developmental process are not well understood. Here, we report that a cellulose synthase-like protein (CslA(Sc)) in Streptomyces has a function in hyphal tip growth and morphological differentiation. The cslA(Sc) replacement mutant showed pleiotropic defects, including the severe delay of aerial-hyphal formation and altered cell wall morphology. Calcofluor white fluorescence analysis demonstrated that polysaccharide synthesis at hyphal tips was dependent on CslA(Sc). cslA(Sc) was constitutively transcribed, and an enhanced green fluorescent protein-CslA(Sc) fusion protein was mostly located at the hyphal tips. An extract enriched in morphogenetic chaplin proteins promoted formation of aerial hyphae by the mutant. Furthermore, a two-hybrid experiment indicated that the glycosyltransferase domain of CslA(Sc) interacted with the tropomyosin-like polarity-determining DivIVA protein, suggesting that the tip-located DivIVA governed tip recruitment of the CslA(Sc) membrane protein. These results imply that the cellulose synthase-like protein couples extracellular and cytoskeletal components functioning in tip growth and cell development.

Molecular domain organization of BldD, an essential transcriptional regulator for developmental process of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

A homodimeric protein, BldD is a key regulator for developmental process of Streptomyces coelicolor and the bldD mutant exhibits severely pleiotropic defects in the antibiotic production and morphological differentiation of the bacterium. In the present work, we approached domain organization of BldD, to structurally and functionally characterize the protein as a DNA-binding protein. We first observed a proteolytic cleavage of BldD by the cytoplasmic extracts of S. coelicolor, which was highly dependent on the developmental stage of the bacterium. The resulting fragment of BldD was identified by mass spectrometry as the N-terminal domain resistant to the proteolysis. Recombinant proteins corresponding to the intact BldD, the N-terminal domain (residues 1-79) and the rest part (C-terminal domain; residues 80-167) were used for comparative analyses by several spectroscopic, thermodynamic, and biochemical experiments, respectively. The results of circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies certified each of the two determined domains could be regarded as an individual folding unit possessing an independent thermodynamic cooperativity. Structural interaction between the two domains was little observed in the DNA-free and DNA-bound states. Strikingly, it was revealed by gel permeation chromatography, chemical crosslink, gel mobility shift, and NMR-monitored DNA-binding experiments, that only the N-terminal domain is responsible for the dimerization as well as DNA-binding of BldD. Detailed inspection of the present results suggests that BldD function in a unique and complicated mode to totally regulate the diverse developmental stages of S. coelicolor.

Forest soil metagenome gene cluster involved in antifungal activity expression in Escherichia coli

Using two forest soils, we previously constructed two fosmid libraries containing 113,700 members in total. The libraries were screened to select active antifungal clones using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a target fungus. One clone from the Yuseong pine tree rhizosphere soil library, pEAF66, showed S. cerevisiae growth inhibition. Despite an intensive effort, active chemicals were not isolated. DNA sequence analysis and transposon mutagenesis of pEAF66 revealed 39 open reading frames (ORFs) and indicated that eight ORFs, probably in one transcriptional unit, might be directly involved in the expression of antifungal activity in Escherichia coli. The deduced amino acid sequences of eight ORFs were similar to those of the core genes encoding type II family polyketide synthases, such as the acyl carrier protein (ACP), ACP synthases, aminotransferase, and ACP reductase. The gene cluster involved in antifungal activity was similar in organization to the putative antibiotic production locus of Pseudomonas putida KT2440, although we could not select a similar active clone from the KT2440 genomic DNA library in E. coli. ORFs encoding ATP binding cassette transporters and membrane proteins were located at both ends of the antifungal gene cluster. Upstream ORFs encoding an IclR family response regulator and a LysR family response regulator were involved in the positive regulation of antifungal gene expression. Our results suggested the metagenomic approach as an alternative to search for novel antifungal antibiotics from unculturable soil bacteria. This is the first report of an antifungal gene cluster obtained from a soil metagenome using S. cerevisiae as a target fungus.

Complete gene expression profiling of Saccharopolyspora erythraea using GeneChip DNA microarrays

Background

The Saccharopolyspora erythraea genome sequence, recently published, presents considerable divergence from those of streptomycetes in gene organization and function, confirming the remarkable potential of S. erythraea for producing many other secondary metabolites in addition to erythromycin. In order to investigate, at whole transcriptome level, how S. erythraea genes are modulated, a DNA microarray was specifically designed and constructed on the S. erythraea strain NRRL 2338 genome sequence, and the expression profiles of 6494 ORFs were monitored during growth in complex liquid medium.

Results

The transcriptional analysis identified a set of 404 genes, whose transcriptional signals vary during growth and characterize three distinct phases: a rapid growth until 32 h (Phase A); a growth slowdown until 52 h (Phase B); and another rapid growth phase from 56 h to 72 h (Phase C) before the cells enter the stationary phase. A non-parametric statistical method, that identifies chromosomal regions with transcriptional imbalances, determined regional organization of transcription along the chromosome, highlighting differences between core and non-core regions, and strand specific patterns of expression. Microarray data were used to characterize the temporal behaviour of major functional classes and of all the gene clusters for secondary metabolism. The results confirmed that the ery cluster is up-regulated during Phase A and identified six additional clusters (for terpenes and non-ribosomal peptides) that are clearly regulated in later phases.

Conclusion

The use of a S. erythraea DNA microarray improved specificity and sensitivity of gene expression analysis, allowing a global and at the same time detailed picture of how S. erythraea genes are modulated. This work underlines the importance of using DNA microarrays, coupled with an exhaustive statistical and bioinformatic analysis of the results, to understand the transcriptional organization of the chromosomes of micro-organisms producing natural products.

Novel properties of P450s in Streptomyces coelicolor

In the process of investigating the function of the 18 P450s that make up the CYPome in the soil bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor, we have discovered new and novel biochemical features of some of these monooxygenases. This article which is dedicated to Ron Estabrook summarizes these discoveries with emphasis on their novelty. It is concluded from this work that there are many interesting features of P450 enzymes waiting to be discovered. Since there are more than 6500 P450 gene sequences known today, we can expect that many new biochemical aspects of P450s will be discovered as these individual monooxygenases are investigated.

Characterization of a novel two-component regulatory system involved in the regulation of both actinorhodin and a type I polyketide in Streptomyces coelicolor

To seek more information on function of two-component regulatory systems (TCSs) in Streptomyces coelicolor, a dozen TCS-knockout mutants were generated, and phenotype changes were determined. One TCS (SCO5403/5404)-deleted mutant with phenotype change was obtained. Here, we report the characterization of this novel TCS, designated as RapA1/A2 (regulation of both actinorhodin and a type I polyketide), using genetic and proteomic approaches. Although growth and morphological analyses showed no difference between the knockout mutant and wild-type strain M145, a visible decrease of the production of actinorhodin (Act) was observed in rapA1/A2 mutant. The decrease can be restored by introducing rapA1/A2 genes on an integrative vector. A 2D-gel based proteomic analysis showed that knockout of rapA1/A2 resulted in reduced expression of a putative 3-oxoacyl-[acyl-carrier protein] reductase that is part of a biosynthetic cluster for a cryptic type I polyketide. Further reverse-transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyses confirmed that expression levels of several biosynthetic genes and the respective pathway-specific regulatory genes actII-ORF4 and kasO for these two clusters were all down-regulated in the rapA1/A2 mutant, compared to M145. Taken together, the results demonstrated that RapA1/A2 may serve as a positive regulator for biosynthesis of both Act and the uncharacterized polyketide in S. coelicolor, and the effects exerted by RapA1/A2 were dependent on the pathway-specific regulatory genes.

Characterization of the sporulation control protein SsgA by use of an efficient method to create and screen random mutant libraries in streptomycetes

Filamentous actinomycetes are commercially widely used as producers of natural products. However, the mycelial lifestyle of actinomycetes has been a major bottleneck in their commercialization, and screening is difficult due to their poor growth on microtiter plates. We previously demonstrated that the enhanced expression of the cell division activator protein SsgA results in the fragmented growth of streptomycetes, with enhanced growth rates and improved product formation. We here describe a novel and efficient method to create, maintain, and screen mutant libraries in streptomycetes and the application of this method for the functional analysis of Streptomyces coelicolor ssgA. The variants were amplified directly from deep-frozen biomass suspensions. Around 800 ssgA variants, including single-amino-acid-substitution mutants corresponding to more than half of all SsgA residues, were analyzed for their abilities to restore sporulation to an ssgA mutant. The essential residues were clustered in three main sections, and hardly any were in the carboxy-terminal third of the protein. The majority of the crucial residues were conserved among all SsgA-like proteins (SALPs). However, the essential residues L29, D58, and S89 were conserved only in SsgA orthologues and not in other SALPs, suggesting an SsgA-specific function.

Understanding electron transport systems of Streptomyces cytochrome P450

Streptomyces spp. are known to produce various types of biologically active compounds including antibiotics, antiparasitic agents, herbicides and immunosuppressants. P450 (cytochrome P450) enzymes may have key roles in these biosynthetic and biotransformation reactions. Recent genomic analysis of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) indicates that S. coelicolor may have six ferredoxins (Fdxs), four putative Fdx reductases (FdRs) and 18 P450 genes. However, there are few clues to explain the mechanisms and functions of Streptomyces P450 systems. To solve these questions, we have expressed and purified five S. coelicolor P450s, four FdRs and six Fdxs in Escherichia coli. Of the purified P450s, CYP105D5 has fatty acid hydroxylation activity in a system reconstituted with putidaredoxin reductase and Fdx4 or with spinach FdR and spinach Fdx, although the reconstitutions with FdR2 or FdR3 and any of the Fdxs did not support CYP105D5-catalysed oleic acid hydroxylation. Elucidation of the detailed mechanisms of electron transport system for Streptomyces P450 may provide the perspective for usefulness of P450s as a biocatalyst.

How do antibiotic‐producing bacteria ensure their self‐resistance before antibiotic biosynthesis incapacitates them?

Acquired antibiotic resistance among dangerous bacterial pathogens is an increasing medical problem. While in Mycobacterium tuberculosis this occurs by mutation in the genes encoding the targets for antibiotic action, other pathogens have generally gained their resistance genes by horizontal gene transfer from non-pathogenic bacteria. The ultimate source of many of these genes is almost certainly the actinomycetes that make the antibiotics and therefore need self-protective mechanisms to avoid suicide. How do they ensure that they are resistant at the time when intracellular antibiotic concentrations reach potentially lethal levels? In this issue of Molecular Microbiology, Tahlan et al. describe a solution to this problem in which an antibiotically inactive precursor of a Streptomyces coelicolor antibiotic induces resistance -- in this example by means of a trans-membrane export pump -- so that the organism is already primed for resistance at the time when it is needed. The authors generalize their interpretation to other cases where antibiotic resistance depends on export, but it will be interesting to find out whether it could in fact apply more widely, to include the other major mechanisms of resistance: target modification and the synthesis of antibiotics via a series of chemically modified intermediates, with removal of the protective group at the time of secretion into the outside medium.