Construction of a database for modular polyketides and non-ribosomal peptides

The DNA sequences of many modular biosynthesis clusters are known. Most clusters contain several synthetase genes and the order in which the polypeptides are used in the biosynthesis pathway cannot yet be deduced from the DNA sequence alone. A database of modular clusters was developed that included a description linking the order of the genes to the biosynthetic order. The database was developed in MySQL allowing the easy implementation of interfaces for different purposes. The database is designed to have complete information about all the well-characterised clusters as well as containing the many potential clusters deduced from DNA sequencing, where the product (if any) is not known. This database will be useful in a variety of studies including the in silico prediction of the products of homologous recombination between biosynthesis clusters. There will be a computer demonstration of the database.