Efficient polyketide synthesis derived from plasmid-borne heterologous Stre
ptomyces polyketide synthase (PKS) gene clusters necessitates a suitable ho
st strain. Well-characterized laboratory strains such as Streptomyces coeli
color or Streptomyces lividans and their frequently used derivatives carry
endogenous genes for the synthesis of actinorhodin (among other PKS genes),
which might interfere with the efficient production of extrachromosomally
encoded PKS proteins and the quantitative analysis of their secreted polyke
tide products. To circumvent this problem, a frequently used S. coelicolor
derivative, designated CH999, was engineered to lack most of the actinorhod
in gene cluster. However, this strain can only be transformed with methyl-f
ree DNA. Additionally, unlike its otherwise isogenic parent CH1, CH999 exhi
bits low transformation efficiencies. Here, we report the construction of t
wo S. lividans host strains, K4-114 and K4-155. With respect to the actinor
hodin gene cluster, both are genotypically identical to CH999; however, bot
h can be transformed at considerably higher frequencies and also with methy
lated DNA. Upon transformation with the appropriate expression vector, CH99
9, K4-114 and K4-155 all produce the erythromycin precursor 6-deoxyerythron
olide B(6-dEB) equally well.