Biosynthesis of the tetracycline antibiotics

Coevolution: mankind and microbes

In just 70 short years mankind has progressed from euphoria to despair over the effectiveness of antibiotics to protect and to cure mankind from morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases. Resistance due to evolutionary factors was observed shortly after antibiotics came into use and is now not only widespread but appears to be inevitable. This review is a rather personalized account of the various attempts to deal with this problem over time.

Nitrogen Incorporation in the Biosynthetic Pathway of the Nitrogen-containing Polyketide, Pamamycin in Streptomyces alboniger

The biosynthetic pathway of pamamycin (1), a nitrogen-containing polyketide, was investigated using blocked mutants of Streptomyces alboniger. Hydroxy acids K (3), L (4) and S (5) were found in cultured materials of blocked mutants and the wild type strain, but no PM-ketone (2) was detected. Hydroxy acids 3, 4, 5 and de-N-methylhydroxy acid L (7) were converted into 1, but 2 nor de-N-methylpamamycin (6) were not. We also confirmed that 3 and 7 were converted into 4. These results showed that an amino group was introduced into the carbonyl group of 3 by transamination, and subsequent N-methylation led to 4 in the pamamycin biosynthetic pathway. Quantitative analyses of hydroxy acid intermediates 3, 4, and 5, and pamamycin (1) suggested that transamination was the rate-determining step in pamamycin biosynthesis.