Incorporation of [U-C-13]glycerol defines plausible early steps for the biosynthesis of methylenomycin A in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

Incorporation of [U-C-13]glycerol into the linear plasmid-encoded secondary metabolite methylenomycin A, both intact and indirectly via metabolism to acetyl CoA, was observed in Streptomyces coelicolor suggesting plausible early biosynthetic steps for this unusual antibiotic.