Zwittermicin A is an antibiotic that has been identified from the bacterium Bacillus cereus UW85. It is a molecule of interest to agricultural industry because it has the potential to suppress plant disease due to its broad spectrum activity against certain gram positive and gram negative eukaryotic micro-organisms. The molecule is also of interest from a metabolic perspective because it represents a new structural class of antibiotic and suggests a crossover between polyketide and non-ribosomal peptide biosynthetic pathways. Zwittermicin A is linear aminopolyol. Zwittermycin A biosynthesis is a hybrid of polyketide and non-ribosomal peptide synthetic pathways. Most likely, all of the synthases are located on one megasynthase much like a type I ketosynthase. Based on mutant studies, the biosynthetic cluster involved in zwittermicin production have been identified and the pathway proposed.
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