Bioconversion capacity of Streptomyces sp GE44282, a producer of the antibiotics heneicomycin and aurodox.

Streptomyces sp GE44282 was isolated in the course of a screening program for novel antibiotics. It co-produces heneicomycin and aurodox, two kirromycin-type antibiotics, which differ by the presence of an hydroxyl group at the C30 position of aurodox. Heneicomycin is converted into aurodox both by growing and resting cells of Streptomyces sp GE44282 and by the producer of aurodox, Streptomyces goldiniensis ATCC 21386. This bioconversion of heneicomycin is substrate-specific and is not observed using the producer of heneicomycin, Streptomyces filippiniensis NRRL 11044. The three strains show very similar taxonomic characteristics. These results suggest that heneicomycin is a precursor of aurodox, the production of which depends on the bioconversion capability expressed by the strain.