In 2011 in a top-tier journal “Nature Chemical Biology”, Our Lab and co-work research groups reported exploration of the biosynthetic gene cluster of kanamycin, which allowed us to completely decipher the biosynthetic pathway of the kanamycins, revealing a remarkable parallel pathway leading to kanamycins A and B independently. With knowledge of the biosynthetic steps in hand, we engineered this pathway to modulate kanamycin biosynthetic flux as well as to biosynthesize novel kanamycin analogue with greater antibacterial activity.

[Cracking Kanamycin]

A detailed understanding of the biosynthetic pathways of kanamycins is sure to open new opportunities to assist in comprehending the biosynthesis of other related aminoglycosides and to form the basis for pathway engineering toward the next generation of antibiotics, which are robust against the superbugs.