Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40866386›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Genetic engineering of Sorangium cellulosum reveals hidden enzymology in myxobacterial natural product biosynthesis.

Xiaotong Zhong, Shan Liu, Bingda Ma, Kaining Gao, Dayong Jiang, Yingshuo Hou, Huliang Chen, Jiaqi Lv, James I Bowen, Matthew P Crump and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Xiaotong Zhong *State Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity and Innovative Utilization, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0009-1873-0814
Shan Liu *State Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity and Innovative Utilization, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-9563-5904
Bingda MaState Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity and Innovative Utilization, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Kaining GaoState Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity and Innovative Utilization, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Dayong JiangState Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity and Innovative Utilization, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Yingshuo HouState Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity and Innovative Utilization, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-6539-7624
Huliang ChenState Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity and Innovative Utilization, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Jiaqi LvState Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity and Innovative Utilization, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-5938-7841
James I BowenSchool of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1596-4174
Matthew P CrumpSchool of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7868-5818
Christine L WillisSchool of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. chris.willis@bristol.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3919-3642
Luoyi WangState Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity and Innovative Utilization, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. wangluoyi@im.ac.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2032-7206

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 32270083
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Sorangium cellulosum is a cellulolytic myxobacterium that produces a vast array of complex natural products with diverse chemical scaffolds and biological activities. However, biosynthetic investigations of these metabolites have been hindered by the scarcity of genetic manipulation tools available for their producing microorganisms. Here, we develop an efficient electroporation method for transforming foreign DNA into various Sorangium strains, enabling effective genetic engineering via homologous recombination. This facilitates delineation of the biosynthetic pathway to ambruticin, unveiling several previously undisclosed steps. Notably, AmbK is identified as the elusive epoxide hydrolase responsible for the formation of the tetrahydropyran ring during post-polyketide synthase (PKS) modification, while the terminal PKS module AmbH is shown to catalyse dual rounds of chain elongation during polyketide assembly. Our findings provide significant insights into the intricate molecular machinery governing myxobacterial natural product biosynthesis and greatly enhance our ability to further engineer Sorangium strains to unlock their biosynthetic potentials.

Indexed as

Biological ProductsGenetic EngineeringMyxococcalesBacterial ProteinsBiosynthetic PathwaysElectroporationPolyketide SynthasesBacterial ProteinsBiological ProductsPolyketide Synthases

Identifiers

PMID40866386
PMCPMC12391302

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.