LAUSR

ε-Poly-l-lysine (ε-PL) produced as a secondary metabolite of Streptomyces albulus has long been used as a natural food preservative in a number of countries, including Japan, the United States, South Korea, and China. To date, numerous studies employing classical biotechnological approaches have been carried out to improve its productivity. Here we report a modern and rational genetic approach to enhancing metabolic flux toward ε-PL biosynthesis. Based on in silico genome analyses, we revealed that S. albulus NBRC14147 produces five antifungal polyene antibiotics-tetramycin A and B, tetrin A and B, and a trace amount of nystatin A1-concomitantly with antimicrobial ε-PL. Targeted inactivation of the biosynthetic gene cluster for tetramycins and tetrins in a nystatin A1 production-deficient mutant completely abolished the production of polyene macrolides, which in turn led to an approximately 20% improvement in ε-PL production that closely correlated with the polyene defects. The biosynthetic flux for ε-PL was thus successfully enhanced by inactivation of the concomitant secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathways. Since this elimination of concomitantly produced metabolites also allows for simpler purification after fermentation production of ε-PL, the rational strain engineering strategy we show here will improve its industrial production.