Characterization of a pleiotropic regulator MtrA in Streptomyces avermitilis controlling avermectin production and morphological differentiation

The macrolide antibiotic avermectin is a natural product produced by Streptomyces avermitilis and is widely used in agriculture, animal husbandry and medicine. The mtrA (sav_5063) gene is a transcriptional regulator of the OmpR family. As a pleiotropic regulator, mtrA affects not only the growth, development and morphological differentiation of strains, but also primary metabolism-related genes. However, studies on the regulation of avermectin biosynthesis are currently incomplete.