Title:Engineered Biosynthesis through the Adenylation Domains from
Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetases
Volume: 23
Issue: 20
Author(s): Zhenhua Lu, Xiao-Huan Liu, Xinsong Yuan, Fei Liu and Tao Wang*
Affiliation:
- School of Biological Science, Jining Medical University, Jining, China
Keywords:
Nonribosomal peptide synthetases, Adenylation domains, Domain engineering, Biosynthesis, biosynthetic engineering, Rational design.
Abstract: Nonribosomal peptide synthetases, consisted of multiple catalytic domains, are involved
in the biosynthesis of an important family of bioactive natural products in a coordinated manner.
Among the functional domains, adenylation domains are specifically responsible for recognizing
carboxylic acid building blocks and synthesizing aminoacyl adenylates. Given their critical roles in
the biosynthesis of the growing peptide, A-domains are also referred to as the “gatekeeper”. In this
review, very recent developments on the A-domains from NRPSs are reviewed to expand the fundamental
knowledge of the A domain, including knowledge on the structures, functions, and molecular
interactions. Several recent examples were also discussed to highlight the great potential of
A-domain engineering. This study should provide a framework for the combinatorial biosynthesis
or synthetic biology-driven microbial production of novel nonribosomal peptides.