Methodologies and strategies for the bioengineering of lantibiotics.

Lantibiotics are ribosomally synthesized, post-translationally modified, peptide antibiotics containing unusual amino acids such as dehydrated amino acids and lanthionine. These unusual amino acids impose conformational constraints on the peptide and contribute to the biological activity and high physicochemical stability of lantibiotics. Recent researches on the modification enzymes responsible for dehydration and cyclization have considerably increased our understanding of their molecular characteristics and relaxed specificity.