Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 secondary metabolism: aryl polyene biosynthesis and phosphopantetheinyl transferase crosstalk.

Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) is a Gram-negative bacterium that is used to treat inflammatory bowel diseases. The probiotic character of EcN is not well-understood, but its ability to produce secondary metabolites plays an important role in its activity. The EcN genome encodes for an aryl polyene (APE) biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC), and APE products have a role in biofilm formation.