The glycopeptide A40926 is the precursor of dalbavancin, a second-generation glycopeptide currently under clinical development. The dbv gene cluster, devoted to A40926 biosynthesis, was isolated and characterized from the actinomycete Nonomuraea species ATCC39727. From sequence analysis, 37 open reading frames (ORFs) participate in A40926 biosynthesis, regulation, resistance, and export. Of these, 27 ORFs find a match in at least one of the previously characterized glycopeptide gene clusters, while 10 ORFs are, so far, unique to the dbv cluster. Putative genes could be identified responsible for some of the tailoring steps (attachment of glucosamine, sugar oxidation, and mannosylation) expected during A40926 biosynthesis. After constructing a Nonomuraea mutant by deleting dbv ORFs 8 to 10, the novel compound dechloromannosyl-A40926 aglycone was isolated.

Alpha-mannosidosis is a lysosomal storage disease with autosomal recessive inheritance caused by a deficiency of the lysosomal alpha-mannosidase, which is involved in the degradation of asparagine-linked carbohydrate cores of glycoproteins. An alpha-mannosidosis mouse model was generated by targeted disruption of the gene for lysosomal alpha-mannosidase. Homozygous mutant animals exhibit alpha-mannosidase enzyme deficiency and elevated urinary secretion of mannose-containing oligosaccharides. Thin-layer chromatography revealed an accumulation of oligosaccharides in liver, kidney, spleen, testis and brain. The cellular alterations were characterized by multiple membrane-limited cytoplasmic vacuoles as seen for instance in liver, exocrine pancreas, kidney, thyroid gland, smooth muscle cells, osteocytes and in various neurons of the central and peripheral nervous systems. The morphological lesions and their topographical distribution, as well as the biochemical alterations, closely resemble those reported for human alpha-mannosidosis. This mouse model will be a valuable tool for studying the pathogenesis of inherited alpha-mannosidosis and may help to evaluate therapeutic approaches for lysosomal storage diseases.

Nonomuraea strain ATCC 39727 produces the glycopeptide A40926, used for manufacturing dalbavancin, currently in advanced clinical trials. From the gene cluster involved in A40926 biosynthesis, a strain deleted in dbv23 was constructed. This mutant can produce only the glycopeptides lacking the O-linked acetyl residue at position 6 of the mannose moiety, while, under identical fermentation conditions, the wild-type strain produces mostly glycopeptides carrying an acetylated mannose. Furthermore, the total amount of glycopeptides produced by the mutant strain was found to be approximately twice that of the wild type. The reduced level of glycopeptides observed in the wild-type strain may be due to an inhibitory effect exerted by the acetylated compound on the biosynthesis of A40926. Indeed, spiking production cultures with > or =1 microg/ml of the acetylated glycopeptide inhibited A40926 production in the mutant strain.

The actinomycete Nonomuraea sp. ATCC39727 produces the glycopeptide A40926. In the corresponding dbv cluster, ORF28 encodes a putative hydroxylase. A gene replacement mutant of ORF28 in Nonomuraea produces a small amount of an A40926-related metabolite, 16 amu smaller than the parent compound, which was identified as the desoxyderivative of A40926 lacking the beta-hydroxyl group on the tyrosine moiety. This result demonstrates that ORF28 is actually involved in the formation of the beta-hydroxytyrosine residue present in A40926. The formation of an altered glycopeptide and the inability to rescue A40926 production upon feeding free beta-hydroxytyrosine are consistent with the possibility that, in contrast to balhimycin formation, hydroxylation occurs after tyrosine activation by the nonribosomal peptide synthetase.

The filamentous actinomycete Nonomuraea sp. ATCC39727 produces the industrially important glycopeptide antibiotic A40926. We developed a gene transfer system based on intergeneric conjugation from Escherichia coli. Analysis of the ex-conjugants revealed that the incoming plasmid pSET152 had integrated at two sites in the Nonomuraea genome. One of these was characterized and found to be highly related to other PhiC31 attB sites described in Streptomyces spp., including the core TTS sequence, where crossover occurs. Surprisingly, pSET152 was also found in episomic form in the Nonomuraea ex-conjugants.