Biomimetic engineering of nonribosomal peptide synthesis

Kexin Zhang; Hajo Kries

doi:10.1042/BST20221264

Biomimetic engineering of nonribosomal peptide synthesis

Biochem Soc Trans. 2023 Aug 31;51(4):1521-1532. doi: 10.1042/BST20221264.

Authors

Kexin Zhang¹, Hajo Kries^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Junior Research Group Biosynthetic Design of Natural Products, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI Jena), 07745 Jena, Germany.
² Organic Chemistry I, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.

PMID: 37409512
DOI: 10.1042/BST20221264

Abstract

Nonribosomal peptides (NRPs) have gained attention due to their diverse biological activities and potential applications in medicine and agriculture. The natural diversity of NRPs is a result of evolutionary processes that have occurred over millions of years. Recent studies have shed light on the mechanisms by which nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) evolve, including gene duplication, recombination, and horizontal transfer. Mimicking natural evolution could be a useful strategy for engineering NRPSs to produce novel compounds with desired properties. Furthermore, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has highlighted the urgent need for new drugs, and NRPs represent a promising avenue for drug discovery. This review discusses the engineering potential of NRPSs in light of their evolutionary history.

Keywords: NRPs engineering; NRPs evolution; nonribosomal peptide.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bacteria
Biomimetics*
Peptide Synthases / chemistry
Peptide Synthases / genetics
Peptides* / chemistry

Substances

Peptides
Peptide Synthases