Docket #: S15-054
BAP1 – E. coli strain for producing complex natural products
Stanford researchers developed BAP1, a strain of E. coli designed to produce complex natural products (particularly polyketides and non-ribosomal peptides) that might otherwise be inaccessible. The compounds capable of being produced by BAP1 span a wide array of applications, the most notable being antibiotics, anti-cancer agents, and agrochemicals.
Stage of Research
The inventors first demonstrated the utility of BAP1 in 2001 when they used it to synthesize complex polyketides by converting propionate into the antibiotic erythromycin.
Applications
- Synthetic biology – production of polyketide and nonribosomal peptide (and potentially other) complex natural products and agrochemicals with commercial value
Advantages
- Scalable, economically-feasible production – polyketides and other compounds can be produced in E. coli at lower cost than in their native organisms
Publications
- B.A. Pfeifer, S.J. Admiraal, H. Gramajo, D.E. Cane, C. Khosla. Biosynthesis of Complex Polyketides in a Metabolically Engineered Strain of E. coli Science 291, 1790-2 (2001)
- Genetic engineering speeds development of new antibiotics, Stanford Report March 2, 2001.
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