Analysis of the gene cluster from Streptomyces avermitilis that governs the biosynthesis of the polyketide anthelmintic avermectin revealed that it contains four large ORFs encoding giant multifunctional polypeptides of the avermectin polyketide synthase (AVES 1, AVES 2, AVES 3, and AVES 4). These clustered polyketide synthase genes responsible for avermectin biosynthesis together encode 12 hom...

The organocatalytic site-selective monoacylation of avermectin B2a, an insecticidal and anti-parasitic drug, was accomplished. Although an acetylation of avermectin B2a using a 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) as a catalyst gave poor site-selectivity, use of our organocatalyst increased site-selectivity of the acylation at the C-5-OH as well as the yield of monoacetate. This catalyst was also eff...

BACKGROUND Avermectin and milbemycin are important 16-membered macrolides that have been widely used as pesticides in agriculture. However, the wide use of these pesticides inevitably causes serious drug resistance, it is therefore imperative to develop new avermectin and milbemycin analogs. The biosynthetic gene clusters of avermectin and milbemycin have been identified and the biosynthetic pa...

4'-Modified avermectin derivatives were designed and synthesized. Some of the new synthetic compounds showed excellent in vivo bioactivity against cabbage larvae when compared to commercially available avermectin B1a. In this synthesis, uncommon thioglycosyl sugar donors, prepared from the hydrolysis of natural antibiotics, proved compatible with sugar-macrolide synthesis in the presence of N-i...

During slow-wave sleep, cortical neurons display synchronous fluctuations between periods of persistent activity ('UP states') and periods of relative quiescence ('DOWN states'). Such UP and DOWN states are also seen in isolated cortical slices. Recently, we reported that both spontaneous and evoked termination of UP states in slices from the rat medial entorhinal cortex (mEC) involves GABA(B) ...

BACKGROUND Streptomyces avermitilis, belonging to Actinomycetes, is specialized for production of avermectin, used as an anthelmintic and insecticidal agent. It is mostly found in soil and its isolation is very crucial for medically important avermectin production. OBJECTIVES In the present study, 10 bacterial isolates lacking antimicrobial activities were isolated from the soil samples colle...

To isolate a gene for stimulating avermectin production, a genomic library of Streptomyces avermitilis ATCC 31267 was constructed in Streptomyces lividans TK21 as the host strain. An 8.0-kb DNA fragment that significantly stimulated actinorhodin and undecylprodigiosin production was isolated. When wild-type S. avermitilis was transformed with the cloned fragment, avermectin production increased...

Streptomyces avermitilis is an important bacterial species used for industrial production of avermectins, a family of broad-spectrum anthelmintic agents. We previously identified the protein SAV576, a TetR family transcriptional regulator (TFR), as a downregulator of avermectin biosynthesis that acts by controlling transcription of its major target gene SAV575 (which encodes cytochrome P450/NAD...

The nucleotide sugar precursor of the oleandrose units of the avermectins has been purified from a mutant of Streptomyces avermitilis, which does not synthesize any avermectins but which converts avermectin aglycones to their respective disaccharides. This precursor has been identified as dTDP-oleandrose. The purification was achieved by anion exchange and reverse phase high performance liquid ...

Avermectin and its analogues are produced by the actinomycete Streptomyces avermitilis and are widely used in the field of animal health, agriculture, and human health. Here we have adopted a practical approach to successfully improve avermectin production in an industrial overproducer. Transcriptional levels of the wild-type strain and industrial overproducer in production cultures were monito...