Mutasynthetic Production and Antimicrobial Characterization of Darobactin Analogs

There is great need for therapeutics against multidrug-resistant, Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. Recently, darobactin A, a novel bicyclic heptapeptide that selectively kills Gram-negative bacteria by targeting the outer membrane protein BamA, was discovered. Its efficacy was proven in animal infection models of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, thus promoting darobactin A as a promising lead compound. Originally discovered from members of the nematode-symbiotic genus; Photorhabdus; , the biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) encoding the synthesis of darobactin A can also be found in other members of the class; Gammaproteobacteria; . Therein, the precursor peptides DarB to -F, which differ in their core sequence from darobactin A, were identified; in silico; . Even though production of these analogs was not observed in the putative producer strains, we were able to generate them by mutasynthetic derivatization of a heterologous expression system. The analogs generated were isolated and tested for their bioactivity. The most potent compound, darobactin B, was used for cocrystallization with the target BamA, revealing a binding site identical to that of darobactin A. Despite its potency, darobactin B did not exhibit cytotoxicity, and it was slightly more active against Acinetobacter baumannii isolates than darobactin A. Furthermore, we evaluated the plasma protein binding of darobactin A and B, indicating their different pharmacokinetic properties. This is the first report on new members of this new antibiotic class, which is likely to expand to several promising therapeutic candidates.; IMPORTANCE; Therapeutic options to combat Gram-negative bacterial pathogens are dwindling with increasing antibiotic resistance. This study presents a proof of concept for the heterologous-expression approach to expand on the novel antibiotic class of darobactins and to generate analogs with different activities and pharmacokinetic properties. In combination with the structural data of the target BamA, this approach may contribute to structure-activity relationship (SAR) data to optimize inhibitors of this essential outer membrane protein of Gram-negative pathogens

Microbial Tailoring of Acyl Peptidic Siderophores

[Image: see text] Marine bacteria produce an abundance of suites of acylated siderophores characterized by a unique, species-dependent headgroup that binds iron(III) and one of a series of fatty acid appendages. Marinobacter sp. DS40M6 produces a suite of seven acylated marinobactins, with fatty acids ranging from saturated and unsaturated C12–C18 fatty acids. In the present study, we report that in the late log phase of growth, the fatty acids are hydrolyzed by an amide hydrolase producing the peptidic marinobactin headgroup. Halomonas aquamarina str. DS40M3, another marine bacterium isolated originally from the same sample of open ocean water as Marinobacter sp. DS40M6, produces the acyl aquachelins, also as a suite composed of a peptidic headgroup distinct from that of the marinobactins. In contrast to the acyl marinobactins, hydrolysis of the suite of acyl aquachelins is not detected, even when H. aquamarina str. DS40M3 is grown into the stationary phase. The Marinobacter cell-free extract containing the acyl amide hydrolase is active toward exogenous acyl-peptidic siderophores (e.g., aquachelin C, loihichelin C, as well as octanoyl homoserine lactone used in quorum sensing). Further, when H. aquamarina str. DS40M3 is cultured together with Marinobacter sp. DS40M6, the fatty acids of both suites of siderophores are hydrolyzed, and the aquachelin headgroup is also produced. The present study demonstrates that coculturing bacteria leads to metabolically tailored metabolites compared to growth in a single pure culture, which is interesting given the importance of siderophore-mediated iron acquisition for bacterial growth and that Marinobacter sp. DS40M6 and H. aquamarina str. DS40M3 were isolated from the same sample of seawater

Computational identification of a systemic antibiotic for gram-negative bacteria

Discovery of antibiotics acting against Gram-negative species is uniquely challenging due to their restrictive penetration barrier. BamA, which inserts proteins into the outer membrane, is an attractive target due to its surface location. Darobactins produced by Photorhabdus, a nematode gut microbiome symbiont, target BamA. We reasoned that a computational search for genes only distantly related to the darobactin operon may lead to novel compounds. Following this clue, we identified dynobactin A, a novel peptide antibiotic from Photorhabdus australis containing two unlinked rings. Dynobactin is structurally unrelated to darobactins, but also targets BamA. Based on a BamA-dynobactin co-crystal structure and a BAM-complex-dynobactin cryo-EM structure, we show that dynobactin binds to the BamA lateral gate, uniquely protruding into its β-barrel lumen. Dynobactin showed efficacy in a mouse systemic Escherichia coli infection. This study demonstrates the utility of computational approaches to antibiotic discovery and suggests that dynobactin is a promising lead for drug development

A new antibiotic selectively kills Gram-negative pathogens

The current need for novel antibiotics is especially acute for drug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens; 1,2; . These microorganisms have a highly restrictive permeability barrier, which limits the penetration of most compounds; 3,4; . As a result, the last class of antibiotics that acted against Gram-negative bacteria was developed in the 1960s; 2; . We reason that useful compounds can be found in bacteria that share similar requirements for antibiotics with humans, and focus on Photorhabdus symbionts of entomopathogenic nematode microbiomes. Here we report a new antibiotic that we name darobactin, which was obtained using a screen of Photorhabdus isolates. Darobactin is coded by a silent operon with little production under laboratory conditions, and is ribosomally synthesized. Darobactin has an unusual structure with two fused rings that form post-translationally. The compound is active against important Gram-negative pathogens both in vitro and in animal models of infection. Mutants that are resistant to darobactin map to BamA, an essential chaperone and translocator that folds outer membrane proteins. Our study suggests that bacterial symbionts of animals contain antibiotics that are particularly suitable for development into therapeutics