Disruption of a methyltransferase gene in actinomycin G gene cluster in Streptomyces iakyrus increases the production of phenazinomycin

Phenazinomycin is a hybrid natural product consisting of two chemical entities, a phenazine and a cyclic terpenoid. Phenazinomycin exhibits potent activity against murine tumors and adriamycin-resistant P388 leukemia cells. Streptomyces iakyrus DSM 41873 is known to produce five actinomycin G2 -G6 . In the previous study, we identified the gene cluster directing the biosynthesis of actinomycin G2 -G4 . Inactivation of acmG5' gene in the actinomycin G gene cluster in S. iakyrus completely abolished the production of actinomycin G. Metabolic profiling, chemical isolation, and structural elucidation of the resulting mutant SIAΔacmG5' showed a previously unnoticed metabolite phenazinomycin in S. iakyrus. In silico analysis identified a hybrid biosynthetic gene cluster in the genome of S. iakyrus that could be responsible for the biosynthesis of phenazinomycin. It is proposed that the perturbation of actinomycin G to enhance the phenazinomycin production in the mutant may result from the lifted competition of chorismate, the common precursor of the biosynthetic pathways of these two structurally unrelated natural products.