Enhancement of spinosad production in Saccharopolyspora spinosa by overexpression of the complete 74-kb spinosyn gene cluster

Abstract Background Spinosad, a secondary metabolite produced by Saccharopolyspora spinosa, is a polyketide macrolide insecticide with low toxicity and environmental friendliness. Owing to the high level of DNA methylation and unclear regulatory mechanisms, gene engineering to increase spinosad prod...

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Main Authors: Lu Gan, Zhengyu Zhang, Jingtao Chen, Zhichun Shen, Wujie Chen, Shaoxin Chen, Jiyang Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-05-01
Series:Microbial Cell Factories
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-025-02724-x
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author Lu Gan
Zhengyu Zhang
Jingtao Chen
Zhichun Shen
Wujie Chen
Shaoxin Chen
Jiyang Li
author_facet Lu Gan
Zhengyu Zhang
Jingtao Chen
Zhichun Shen
Wujie Chen
Shaoxin Chen
Jiyang Li
author_sort Lu Gan
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Spinosad, a secondary metabolite produced by Saccharopolyspora spinosa, is a polyketide macrolide insecticide with low toxicity and environmental friendliness. Owing to the high level of DNA methylation and unclear regulatory mechanisms, gene engineering to increase spinosad production is challenging. Limited improvements in yield have been observed with heterologous expression or partial overexpression of the 74-kb spinosyn gene cluster (spn), and research on the overexpression of the complete spinosyn gene cluster is lacking. Results The plasmid pCM265-spn was constructed using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated Transformation-Associated Recombination cloning to enable the overexpression of the complete spn gene cluster in Sa. spinosa. The engineered strain Sa. spinosa-spn achieved a 124% increase in spinosad yield (693 mg/L) compared to the wild type (309 mg/L). The overexpression of the spn gene cluster also delayed spore formation and reduced hyphal compartmentalization by influencing the transcription of related genes (bldD, ssgA, whiA, whiB, and fstZ). Transcriptional analysis revealed significant upregulation of genes in the spn gene cluster, thereby enhancing secondary metabolism. Additionally, optimization of the fermentation medium through response surface methodology further increased spinosad production to 920 mg/L. Conclusions This study is the first to successfully overexpress the complete spn gene cluster in Sa. spinosa, significantly enhancing spinosad production. These findings have significance for further optimization of spinosad biosynthesis.
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spelling doaj-art-9905bbe43d8d4fdeba7013a21bfd0f1e2025-08-20T03:53:16ZengBMCMicrobial Cell Factories1475-28592025-05-0124111010.1186/s12934-025-02724-xEnhancement of spinosad production in Saccharopolyspora spinosa by overexpression of the complete 74-kb spinosyn gene clusterLu Gan0Zhengyu Zhang1Jingtao Chen2Zhichun Shen3Wujie Chen4Shaoxin Chen5Jiyang Li6Department of Biological Medicines & Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Biological Medicines & Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Biological Medicines & Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Biological Medicines & Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Biological Medicines & Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Fudan UniversityNational Key Laboratory of Lead Druggability Research, China State Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry, Shanghai Institute of Pharmaceutical IndustryDepartment of Biological Medicines & Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Fudan UniversityAbstract Background Spinosad, a secondary metabolite produced by Saccharopolyspora spinosa, is a polyketide macrolide insecticide with low toxicity and environmental friendliness. Owing to the high level of DNA methylation and unclear regulatory mechanisms, gene engineering to increase spinosad production is challenging. Limited improvements in yield have been observed with heterologous expression or partial overexpression of the 74-kb spinosyn gene cluster (spn), and research on the overexpression of the complete spinosyn gene cluster is lacking. Results The plasmid pCM265-spn was constructed using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated Transformation-Associated Recombination cloning to enable the overexpression of the complete spn gene cluster in Sa. spinosa. The engineered strain Sa. spinosa-spn achieved a 124% increase in spinosad yield (693 mg/L) compared to the wild type (309 mg/L). The overexpression of the spn gene cluster also delayed spore formation and reduced hyphal compartmentalization by influencing the transcription of related genes (bldD, ssgA, whiA, whiB, and fstZ). Transcriptional analysis revealed significant upregulation of genes in the spn gene cluster, thereby enhancing secondary metabolism. Additionally, optimization of the fermentation medium through response surface methodology further increased spinosad production to 920 mg/L. Conclusions This study is the first to successfully overexpress the complete spn gene cluster in Sa. spinosa, significantly enhancing spinosad production. These findings have significance for further optimization of spinosad biosynthesis.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-025-02724-xSaccharopolyspora spinosaSpinosadOverexpressionSpinosyn gene cluster
spellingShingle Lu Gan
Zhengyu Zhang
Jingtao Chen
Zhichun Shen
Wujie Chen
Shaoxin Chen
Jiyang Li
Enhancement of spinosad production in Saccharopolyspora spinosa by overexpression of the complete 74-kb spinosyn gene cluster
Microbial Cell Factories
Saccharopolyspora spinosa
Spinosad
Overexpression
Spinosyn gene cluster
title Enhancement of spinosad production in Saccharopolyspora spinosa by overexpression of the complete 74-kb spinosyn gene cluster
title_full Enhancement of spinosad production in Saccharopolyspora spinosa by overexpression of the complete 74-kb spinosyn gene cluster
title_fullStr Enhancement of spinosad production in Saccharopolyspora spinosa by overexpression of the complete 74-kb spinosyn gene cluster
title_full_unstemmed Enhancement of spinosad production in Saccharopolyspora spinosa by overexpression of the complete 74-kb spinosyn gene cluster
title_short Enhancement of spinosad production in Saccharopolyspora spinosa by overexpression of the complete 74-kb spinosyn gene cluster
title_sort enhancement of spinosad production in saccharopolyspora spinosa by overexpression of the complete 74 kb spinosyn gene cluster
topic Saccharopolyspora spinosa
Spinosad
Overexpression
Spinosyn gene cluster
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-025-02724-x
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