Improved production of andrimid in Erwinia persicina BST187 strain by fermentation optimization.

Background: Andrimid is reported to be a novel kind of polyketide-nonribosomal peptide hybrid product (PK-NRPs) that inhibits fatty acid biosynthesis in bacteria. Considering its great potential in biomedicine and biofarming, intensive studies have been conducted to increase the production of andrimid to overcome the excessive costs of chemosynthesis. In screening for species with broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, we detected andrimid in the fermentation products of Erwinia persicina BST187.

Fine-tuning gene expression of regulator AdmX for improved biosynthesis of andrimid in Erwinia persicina BST187.

Andrimid is a potent antibiotic that inhibits acetyl-CoA carboxylase. However, its low biological yield and complex chemical synthesis have hindered its large-scale application. In this study, we found that the LysR-type transcriptional activator AdmX controls andrimid yield by adjusting its expression level in the andrimid-producing bacterium Erwinia persicina strain BST187.