Understanding the Role of Fatty Acid Substrates on Primycin Biosynthesis by Saccharomonospora azurea During Batch Fermentation

Primycin is a 36-membered marginolactone antibiotic that is biosynthesized through the modular type I polyketide synthase pathway produced by Saccharomonospora azurea, a Gram-positive, soil-dwelling filamentous bacteria. In industrial-scale batch fermentation the primycin-producing strain is cultivated in a complex fermentation media empirically optimized for antibiotic production. To determine the role of various fatty acids on primycin production, the effect of stearic acid (C18:0), palmitic acid (C16:0), lauric acid (C12:0), capric acid (C10:0), enanthic acid (C7:0), caproic acid (C6:0), and butyric acid (C4:0) in growth medium was studied. Our results clearly show that palmitic acid was a better alternative of the originally applied stearic acid in all tested concentrations, while 4.5 g/L proved to be the most effective