Semi-Synthetic DNA Shuffling and Doramectin

Background

Doramectin is a drug used to treat gastrointestinal roundworms, lungworms, eyeworms, grubs, and sucking lice in cattle. The drug is one of several avermectins, compounds used for the treatment of parasites in animals and river blindness in humans. According to the authors, “avermectin derivatives are the most widely used drugs in animal health and agriculture, with current worldwide sales exceeding 1 billion US dollars.”

Avermectins are produced by the soil-borne bacteria Streptomyces avermitilis. The subspecies Streptomyces is the largest genus of antibiotic-producing bacteri; erythromycin, neomycin, streptomycin, and tetracycline were all originally derived from species of Streptomyces.