title: Evolution of polyketide synthases in bacteria.
abstract: The emergence of resistant strains of human pathogens to current antibiotics, along with the demonstrated ability of polyketides as antimicrobial agents, provides strong motivation for understanding how polyketide antibiotics have evolved and diversified in nature. Insights into how bacterial polyketide synthases (PKSs) acquire new metabolic capabilities can guide future laboratory efforts in generating the next generation of polyketide antibiotics. Here, we examine phylogenetic and structural evidence to glean answers to two general questions regarding PKS evolution. How did the exceptionally diverse chemistry of present-day PKSs evolve? And what are the take-home messages for the biosynthetic engineer?
authors.affiliation: Departments of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Biochemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Christian P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Ridley
authors.forename: Ho Young
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chaitan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Khosla
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000201:enzymology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D018942:Macrolides / Q000737:chemistry; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D048630:Polyketide Synthases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011995:Recombination, Genetic
chemical_list: D018942:Macrolides; D048630:Polyketide Synthases