Abstract: The invention provides methods of identifying a host cell that encodes a metabolic pathway that converts a precursor molecule into a growth inhibitory compound, by: (a) culturing a population of host cells under conditions that allow expression of the metabolic pathway; (b) contacting the host cells, or an extract thereof, with a population of target cells and the precursor molecule; and (c) identifying a host cell that inhibits growth of the target cells in the presence, but not in the absence, of the precursor molecule, where an identified host cell from step (c) contains a metabolic pathway that converts the precursor molecule into a growth inhibitory compound. Methods of identifying host cells that encode a metabolic pathway that converts a precursor molecule into a desired product compound are also provided. Further provided are methods of identifying nucleic acid molecules encoding the metabolic pathways.
Abstract: The present invention relates in part to methods for screening for novel enzymatic pathways in environmental samples using metabolic selection strategies, and the isolation of the genes and proteins that make up these pathways.