Adrenaline-mediated activation of antibiotic production in Streptomyces highlights catechol as elicitor of specialized metabolism

Actinobacteria are a rich source of bioactive molecules, and genome sequencing has shown that the vast majority of their biosynthetic potential has yet to be explored. However, many of their biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) are poorly expressed in the laboratory, which prevents discovery of their cognate natural products. To exploit their full biosynthetic potential, better understanding of the signals that promote the expression of BGCs is needed. Here, we show that the human stress hormone epinephrine (adrenaline) elicits antibiotic production by Actinobacteria. Catechol was established as the likely eliciting moiety, since similar responses were seen for catechol and for the catechol-containing molecules dopamine and catechin but not for related molecules. Exploration of the catechol-responsive strain Streptomyces sp. MBT84 using mass spectral networking revealed elicitation of a BGC that produces the angucycline glycosides aquayamycin, urdamycinone B and galtamycin C. Heterologous expression of the catechol-cleaving enzymes catechol 1,2-dioxygenase or catechol 2,3 dioxygenase counteracted the eliciting effect of catechol. Thus, for the first time we show the activation of natural product biosynthesis by a human hormone, leading to the identification of the ubiquitous catechol moiety as elicitor of BGCs for siderophores and antibiotics.