Genome Mining of the Hitachimycin Biosynthetic Gene Cluster: Involvement of a Phenylalanine-2,3-aminomutase in Biosynthesis

Hitachimycin is a macrolactam antibiotic with (S)-β-phenylalanine (β-Phe) at the starter position of its polyketide skeleton. To understand the incorporation mechanism of β-Phe and the modification mechanism of the unique polyketide skeleton, the biosynthetic gene cluster for hitachimycin in Streptomyces scabrisporus was identified by genome mining. The identified gene cluster contains a putative phenylalanine-2,3-aminomutase (PAM), five polyketide synthases, four β-amino-acid-carrying enzymes, and a characteristic amidohydrolase. A hitA knockout mutant showed no hitachimycin production, but antibiotic production was restored by feeding with (S)-β-Phe. We also confirmed the enzymatic activity of the HitA PAM. The results suggest that the identified gene cluster is responsible for the biosynthesis of hitachimycin. A plausible biosynthetic pathway for hitachimycin, including a unique polyketide skeletal transformation mechanism, is proposed.