Heterologous expression of an orphan NRPS gene cluster from Paenibacillus larvae in Escherichia coli revealed production of sevadicin

The Gram-positive bacterium Paenibacillus larvae is the causative agent of the fateful honey bee disease American Foulbrood (AFB). Sequence analysis of P. larvae genomic DNA showed the presence of numerous nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) and polyketide synthase (PKS) encoding gene clusters, not correlating with secondary metabolite production. As NRPS and PKS derived metabolites are known to exhibit diverse biological activities, their identification is of particular interest for infection and drug research. Here an 11.6kb orphan NRPS gene cluster was directly cloned from the genomic DNA of P. larvae and expressed in Escherichia coli resulting in the production of sevadicin. Isolation of the metabolite was followed by structural characterization, synthesis and bioactivity studies.