Coordination of export and glycosylation of landomycins in Streptomyces cyanogenus S136

In Streptomyces cyanogenus S136 gene cluster for biosynthesis of polyglycosylated angucycline landomycin A (LaA), a divergently oriented gene pair for a TetR-family regulator (lanK) and an efflux protein (lanJ) is located, whose functions remained obscure. Overexpression and disruption studies showed that lanK and lanJ genes control LaA resistance. Also, a constitutive lanK overexpression led to predominant accumulation of LaA precursors bearing shorter glycoside chains. These data as well as the results of in vitro and in vivo assays of LanK activity are consistent with the idea that LanK represses lanJ and some downstream genes involved in conversion of landomycin D (a disaccharide LaA precursor) into LaA. LaA and some of its precursors accumulate in the producing cell and relieve repression by LanK, thus amplifying the biosynthesis and export of landomycins with long glycoside chains. Therefore, the main biological role of LanK appears to be the inhibition of premature extrusion of early LaA precursors from the cells, which in turn creates the optimal conditions for accumulation of LaA as the major landomycin in S. cyanogenus S136.