np200543z_si_001.pdf (3.06 MB)
Bacterial Production of the Tunicate-Derived Antitumor Cyclic Depsipeptide Didemnin B
journal contribution
posted on 2016-02-22, 13:14 authored by Moriya Tsukimoto, Masato Nagaoka, Yoshiyuki Shishido, Junji Fujimoto, Fukiko Nishisaka, Sachiko Matsumoto, Enjuro Harunari, Chiaki Imada, Takeshi MatsuzakiNatural products obtained from marine invertebrates such
as sponges
and tunicates are attractive sources of drugs. However, a critical
obstacle in the development of these compounds is the problem of supply.
In most cases, neither chemical synthesis nor mariculture of invertebrates
is economically feasible. Due to structural similarities, many marine
natural products are suspected to be produced by associated microorganisms.
A favorable strategy for the production of such compounds is to use
culturable microorganisms. Here we report that didemnin B, a tunicate-derived
depsipeptide, has been isolated from a culturable bacterium, Tistrella mobilis YIT 12409.