Functional analysis of the aureothin iterative type I polyketide synthase

The modular-type polyketide synthase (PKS) that is involved in aureothin (aur) biosynthesis represents one of the first examples in which a single PKS module (AurA) is used in an iterative fashion. Here we report on the heterologous expression of an engineered AurAB fusion protein that unequivocally proves the iterative nature of AurA. In addition, point mutations reveal that aur PKS module 4 participates in polyketide biosynthesis despite its aberrant acyltronsferase domain.