Biosynthesis of moenomycin and other phosphoglycolipid antibiotics

ORGN 336

Suzanne Walker, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Armenise Bldg., Room 630, 200 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115
Moenomycin is a structurally unusually and very potent antibiotic that inhibits the transglycosylation step of bacterial cell wall biosynthesis. It is the only natural product that inhibits cell wall synthesis by binding to the peptidoglycan glycosyltransferases that make the carbohydrate chains of peptidoglycan. We have identified the genes for the biosynthesis of moenomycin and have established a heterologous expression system to produce moenomycin. We will talk about how Nature makes moenomycin and how we have harnessed the biosynthetic genes to make new analogs.