We have found a secreted phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2), EC 3.1.1.4) from Streptomyces violaceoruber A-2688, which is the first PLA(2) identified in prokaryote, and determined its tertiary structure by NMR and X-ray analyses. In this study, we collected the X-ray diffraction data of the bacterial PLA(2) at room temperature (297 K) using conventional MoK(alpha) radiation and refined the structure at a 1.05 A resolution. The atomic resolution analysis led us to introduce disordered conformations and hydrogen atoms into a full anisotropic model. The molecular motion, which is expressed as the sum of rigid-body motion and internal motion of protein, is roughly estimated as the thermal motion when the X-ray diffraction data are collected at room temperature. In this study, we applied a TLS (rigid-body motion in terms of translation, libration, and screw motions) model to analyze the rigid-body motion of the bacterial PLA(2) and calculated the internal motion by subtracting the estimate of the rigid-body motion from the observed anisotropic temperature factor. We also subjected the TLS model to estimate the internal motion of the bovine pancreatic PLA(2) using the anisotropic temperature factor deposited in the Protein Data Bank. Both results indicate that the localization of regions exhibiting larger internal motion in the bacterial PLA(2) is almost the same as that in the bovine pancreatic PLA(2), suggesting that although the tertiary structure of the bacterial PLA(2) is strikingly different from that of the bovine pancreatic PLA(2), the internal motion, which is associated with the calcium(II) ion-binding, phospholipid-binding, and allosteric interfacial activation, is commonly observed in both PLA(2)s.

We have analyzed the structure of two extrachromosomal elements of the methylenomycin producing actinomycete Streptomyces violaceoruber SANK95570. The presence of the circular plasmid pSV1 which was supposed to contain the genes for methylenomycin biosynthesis could be verified. Physical mapping of pSV1 revealed a size of 175.35 kb for this plasmid. In addition we generated a restriction map for the 100-kb linear plasmid pSV2. Cloning and sequencing of the terminal ends of pSV2 indicated the presence of 426-bp terminal inverted repeats. Both pSV2 termini show significant homology to the chromosome ends of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) which is a closely related strain to S. violaceoruber SANK95570.

Until now, phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2); EC 3.1.14) has been found only from eukaryotic sources. In the present study, we found a secreted PLA(2), which is produced by a soil bacterium, Streptomyces violaceoruber A-2688, demonstrating that the enzyme is the first phospholipase A(2) identified in prokaryote. After characterization of the novel PLA(2), a gene encoding the enzyme was cloned, sequenced, and overexpressed using a Streptomyces host-vector system. The amino acid sequence showed that the prokaryotic PLA(2) has only four cysteines and less homology to the eukaryotic ones, which have 12-16 cysteines. The solution structures of the prokaryotic PLA(2), bound and unbound with calcium(II) ion, were determined by using the NMR technique and structure calculation. The overall structure of the S. violaceoruber PLA(2), which is composed of only five alpha-helices, is completely different from those of eukaryotic PLA(2)s, which consist of beta-sheets and alpha-helices. The structure of the calcium-binding domain is obviously distinct from that without the ion; the ligands for the calcium(II) ion are the two carboxylates of Asp(43) (monodentate) and Asp(65) (bidentate), the carbonyl oxygen of Leu(44), and three water molecules. A calcium-binding experiment showed that the calcium dissociation constant (approximately 5 mm) for the prokaryotic PLA(2) is much larger than those of eukaryotic ones.

In this study, the x-ray crystal structures of the calcium-free and calcium-bound forms of phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)), produced extracellularly by Streptomyces violaceoruber, were determined by using the multiple isomorphous replacement and molecular replacement methods, respectively. The former and latter structures were refined to an R-factor of 18.8% at a 1.4-A resolution and an R-factor of 15.0% at a 1.6-A resolution, respectively. The overall structure of the prokaryotic PLA(2) exhibits a novel folding topology that demonstrates that it is completely distinct from those of eukaryotic PLA(2)s, which have been already determined by x-ray and NMR analyses. Furthermore, the coordination geometry of the calcium(II) ion apparently deviated from that of eukaryotic PLA(2)s. Regardless of the evolutionary divergence, the catalytic mechanism including the calcium(II) ion on secreted PLA(2) seems to be conserved between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Demonstrating that the overall structure determined by x-ray analysis is almost the same as that determined by NMR analysis is useful to discuss the catalytic mechanism at the molecular level of the bacterial PLA(2).

Two ketoreductases, RED1 and RED2, are involved in the biosynthesis of actinorhodin in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) and dihydrogranaticin in S. violaceoruber Tu22, respectively. They are responsible for the stereospecific reductions of the bicyclic intermediate to give (S)- or (R)-DNPA, although there is no similarity between their amino acid sequences. Biotransformation using synthetic analogous substrates revealed that the substrate specificities are quite different. Homology modelling studies and site directed mutagenesis showed remarkable differences in three-dimensional structures and catalytic mechanisms between RED1 and RED2.

We present evidence for the coexistence and coevolution of antibiotic resistance and biosynthesis genes in soil bacteria. The distribution of the streptomycin (strA) and viomycin (vph) resistance genes was examined in Streptomyces isolates. strA and vph were found either within a biosynthetic gene cluster or independently. Streptomyces griseus strains possessing the streptomycin cluster formed part of a clonal complex. All S. griseus strains possessing solely strA belonged to two clades; both were closely related to the streptomycin producers. Other more distantly related S. griseus strains did not contain strA. S. griseus strains with only vph also formed two clades, but they were more distantly related to the producers and to one another. The expression of the strA gene was constitutive in a resistance-only strain whereas streptomycin producers showed peak strA expression in late log phase that correlates with the switch on of streptomycin biosynthesis. While there is evidence that antibiotics have diverse roles in nature, our data clearly support the coevolution of resistance in the presence of antibiotic biosynthetic capability within closely related soil dwelling bacteria. This reinforces the view that, for some antibiotics at least, the primary role is one of antibiosis during competition in soil for resources.

A 6.5 kb region of DNA from Streptomyces violaceoruber, which contains polyketide synthase (PKS) genes for production of the benzoisochromane quinone moiety of the antibiotic, granaticin, was cloned and sequenced. Of six open reading frames (ORFs) identified, four (ORFs 1-4) would be transcribed in one direction and two (ORFs 5 and 6) divergently from ORFs 1-4. ORF1 and ORF2, which show evidence for translation coupling, encode (deduced) gene products which strongly resemble each other and the Escherichia coli fatty acid ketoacyl synthase (condensing enzyme), FabB. We conclude that ORF1 (which contains a characteristic cysteine residue) functions as a condensing enzyme, possibly as part of a heterodimeric protein including the product of ORF2. The predicted ORF3 gene product strikingly resembles acyl carrier proteins (ACPs) of fatty acid synthase (FAS), particularly in the region of the active site motif, while the predicted ORF5 and ORF6 gene products resemble known oxidoreductases, suggesting that they function as reductive steps required during assembly of the granaticin carbon skeleton. Comparison of the deduced ORF4 gene product with available protein databases failed to elucidate its potential function. The overall conclusion is that the granaticin-producing PKS would consist of at least six separate enzymes involved in carbon chain assembly, thus resembling a Type II, rather than a Type I, FAS.

Group-specific chemical modifications of D-xylose isomerase from Streptomyces violaceruber indicated that complete loss of activity is fully correlated with the acylation of a single histidine. Active-site protection, by the ligand combination of xylitol plus Mg2+, completely blocked diethyl pyrocarbonate derivatization of this particular residue [Vangrysperre, Callens, Kersters-Hilderson & De Bruyne (1988) Biochem. J. 250, 153-160]. Differential peptide mapping between D-xylose isomerase, which has previously been treated with diethyl pyrocarbonate in the presence or absence of xylitol plus Mg2+, allowed specific isolation and sequencing of a peptide containing this active-site histidine. For this purpose we used two essentially new techniques: first, a highly reproducible peptide cleavage protocol for protease-resistant, carbethoxylated proteins with guanidinium hydrochloride as denaturing agent and subtilisin for proteolysis; and second, reverse-phase liquid chromatography with dual-wavelength detection at 214 and 238 nm, and calculation of absorbance ratios. It allowed us to locate the single active-site histidine at position 54 in the primary structure of Streptomyces violaceoruber D-xylose isomerase. The sequence around this residue is conserved in D-xylose isomerases from a diversity of micro-organisms, suggesting that this is a structurally and/or functionally essential part of the molecule.

We identified the minimal locus of 163-kb plasmid pSV1 of Streptomyces violaceoruber for the replication in S. lividans. This locus comprised a repA gene and an upstream 407-bp sequence containing two inverted repeats (IR-III and IR-IV) within an iteron, an AT-rich region and a 300-bp noncoding sequence (NCS). RepA protein bound specifically to a 94-bp sequence covering the intact IR-III and IR-IV to form multimers of DNA/protein complexes, but was unable to bind specifically to the NCS and the promoter of repA gene. Interestingly, this 'bound' region also leaves eight 1-bp 'unbound' spacers at 7-11-9-11-9-11-9-11-8-bp intervals. RepA protein-protein interaction could form dimers or trimers in vitro. These results suggest that a higher-order complex between pSV1 RepA protein and the long inverted repeats may be formed during the initiation of plasmid replication.

A 50 kb region of DNA from Streptomyces violaceoruber T?22, containing genes encoding proteins involved in the biosynthesis of granaticin, was isolated. The DNA sequence of a 7.3 kb fragment from this region, located approximately 10 kb from the genes that encode the polyketide synthetase responsible for formation of the benzoisochromane quinone skeleton, revealed five open reading frames (ORF1-ORF5). The deduced amino acid sequence of GraE, encoded by ORF2, shows 60.8% identity (75.2% similarity) to a dTDP-glucose dehydratase (StrE) from Streptomyces griseus. Cultures of Escherichia coli containing plasmids with ORF2, on a 2.1 kb BamHI fragment, were able to catalyze the formation of dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-glucose from dTDP-glucose at 5 times the rate of control cultures, confirming that ORF2 encodes a dTDP-glucose dehydratase. The amino acid sequence encoded by ORF3 (GraD) is 51.4% identical (69.9% similar) to that of StrD, a dTDP-glucose synthase from Streptomyces griseus. The amino acid sequence encoded by ORF4 shares similarities with proteins that confer resistance to tetracycline and methylenomycin, and is suggested to be involved in transporting granaticin out of the cells by an active efflux mechanism.

Bacterial cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes are involved in the hydroxylation of various endogenous substrates while using a heme molecule as a cofactor. CYPs have gained biotechnological interest as useful biocatalysts capable of altering chemical structures by adding a hydroxyl group in a regiospecific manner. Here, we identified, purified, and characterized two CYP154C4 proteins from Streptomyces sp. W2061 (StCYP154C4-1) and Streptomyces sp. ATCC 11861 (StCYP154C4-2). Activity assays showed that both StCYP154C4-1 and StCYP154C4-2 can produce 2'-hydroxylated testosterone, which differs from the activity of a previously described NfCYP154C5 from Nocardia farcinica in terms of its 16�\-hydroxylation of testosterone. To better understand the molecular basis of the regioselectivity of these two CYP154C4 proteins, crystal structures of the ligand-unbound form of StCYP154C4-1 and the testosterone-bound form of StCYP154C4-2 were determined. Comparison with the previously determined NfCYP154C5 structure revealed differences in the substrate-binding residues, suggesting a likely explanation for the different patterns of testosterone hydroxylation, despite the high sequence similarities between the enzymes (54% identity). These findings provide valuable insights that will enable protein engineering for the development of artificial steroid-related CYPs exhibiting different regiospecificity.

The taxonomic relationships among nine strains of Streptomyces, which have been commonly used for genetic studies, were examined by sequence analysis of their ribosomal L11(= rplK) protein genes. Phylogenetic relationships among these organisms derived from similarity sequence analysis of the rplK genes were in good agreement with those derived from the analysis of the deduced L11 protein amino acid sequence itself, indicating complete sequence homology among Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2), 'Streptomyces lividans 66' and Streptomyces violaceoruber JCM 4423. S. coelicolor A3(2) related (in the order of closer relatedness) to Streptomyces antibioticus ATCC 14888, Streptomyces griseus IFO 13189, Streptomyces lavendulae MA 406 A-1 and Streptomyces virginiae MAFF 6014. Sequence analysis of the 26 N-terminal amino acid residues of ribosomal L30 proteins also resulted in similar phylogenetic relationships, except that S. griseus, S. lavendulae and S. virginiae were not differentiated from each other using this method. These findings concerning the phylogenetic relationship therefore confirm the previous conclusion that S. coelicolor A3(2), 'S. lividans 66' and S. violaceoruber should be recognized as a single taxon at the species level.

The granaticins are members of the benzoisochromanequinone class of aromatic polyketides, the best known member of which is actinorhodin made by Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). Genetic analysis of this class of compounds has played a major role in the development of hypotheses about the way in which aromatic polyketide synthases (PKSs) control product structure. Although the granaticin nascent polyketide is identical to that of actinorhodin, post-PKS steps involve different pyran-ring stereochemistry and glycosylation. Comparison of the complete gene clusters for the two metabolites is therefore of great interest. The entire granaticin gene cluster (the gra cluster) from Streptomyces violaceoruber T-22 was cloned on either of two overlapping cosmids and expressed in the heterologous host, Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2), strain CH999. Chemical analysis of the recombinant strains demonstrated production of granaticin, granaticin B, dihydrogranaticin and dihydrogranaticin B, which are the four known metabolites of S. violaceoruber. Analysis of the complete 39,250 base pair sequence of the insert of one of the cosmids, pOJ466-22-24, revealed 37 complete open reading frames (ORFs), 15 of which resemble ORFs from the act (actinorhodin) gene cluster of S. coelicolor A3(2). Among the rest, nine resemble ORFs potentially involved in deoxysugar metabolism from Streptomyces spp. and other bacteria, and six resemble regulatory ORFs. On the basis of these resemblances, putative functional assignments of the products of most of the newly discovered ORFs were made, including those of genes involved in the PKS and tailoring steps in the biosynthesis of the granaticin aglycone, steps in the deoxy sugar pathway, and putative regulatory and export functions.