Developing Streptomyces venezuelae as a cell factory for the production of small molecules used in drug discovery

Abstract

The heterologous expression of biosynthetic pathways is an indispensable tool for drug discovery and development from natural products. Streptomyces venezuelae is a promising heterologous host as it offers several attractive advantages, such as rapid growth rate, convenient genetic manipulation, and an abundant supply of common biosynthetic building blocks. In recent decades, several S. venezuelae mutant strains have been constructed and used to facilitate the synthesis and derivatization of diverse natural products. In this review article, we have provided a schematic look at these host strains, which were used to synthesize natural products from genetically engineered biosynthetic gene clusters.