N-acyl derivatives of arginine and tryptophan isolated from environmental DNA expressed in Escherichia coli.

Heterologous expression of microbial DNA extracted directly from environmental samples (environmental DNA, eDNA) in easily cultured hosts can provide access to natural products produced by previously uncultured bacteria. This report describes the characterization of antibacterially active long-chain N-acyl derivatives of tryptophan and arginine that are produced by eDNA clones hosted in Escherichia coli. The sequencing and subcloning of the proposed N-acyl amino acid synthases (NASs) for each family of natural products are also described. [reaction: see text]