Transcriptional regulation of the redD transcriptional activator gene accounts for growth-phase-dependent production of the antibiotic undecylprodigiosin in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2).

Transcription of redD, the activator gene required for production of the red-pigmented antibiotic undecylprodigiosin by Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2), showed a dramatic increase during the transition from exponential to stationary phase. The increase in redD expression was followed by transcription of redX, a biosynthetic structural gene, and the appearance of the antibiotic in the mycelium, and coincided with the intracellular appearance of ppGpp. However, ppGpp production elicited either by nutritional shift-down of, or addition of serine hydroxamate to, exponentially growing cultures had no stimulatory effect on redD transcription. The presence of redD on a multicopy plasmid resulted in elevated levels of the redD transcript and production of redX and undecylprodigiosin during exponential growth; the normal growth-phase-dependent production of undecylprodigiosin appeared to be mediated entirely through the redD promoter, which shows limited similarity to the consensus sequence for the major class of eubacterial promoters.