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A Abdelhakim I, Futamura Y, Asami Y, Hanaki H, Kito N, Masuda S, Shibata A, Muranaka A, Koshino H, Shirasu K, Osada H, Ishikawa J, Takahashi S. Expression of Syo_1.56 SARP Regulator Unveils Potent Elasnin Derivatives with Antibacterial Activity. JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS 2024; 87:1459-1470. [PMID: 38652684 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.4c00259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Actinomycetes are prolific producers of natural products, particularly antibiotics. However, a significant proportion of its biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) remain silent under typical laboratory conditions. This limits the effectiveness of conventional isolation methods for the discovery of novel natural products. Genetic interventions targeting the activation of silent gene clusters are necessary to address this challenge. Streptomyces antibiotic regulatory proteins (SARPs) act as cluster-specific activators and can be used to target silent BGCs for the discovery of new antibiotics. In this study, the expression of a previously uncharacterized SARP protein, Syo_1.56, in Streptomyces sp. RK18-A0406 significantly enhanced the production of known antimycins and led to the discovery of 12 elasnins (1-12), 10 of which were novel. The absolute stereochemistry of elasnin A1 was assigned for the first time to be 6S. Unexpectedly, Syo_1.56 seems to function as a pleiotropic rather than cluster-specific SARP regulator, with the capability of co-regulating two distinct biosynthetic pathways, simultaneously. All isolated elasnins were active against wild-type and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with IC50 values of 0.5-20 μg/mL, some of which (elasnins A1, B2, and C1 and proelasnins A1, and C1) demonstrated moderate to strong antimalarial activities against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7. Elasnins A1, B3, and C1 also showed in vitro inhibition of the metallo-β-lactamase responsible for the development of highly antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Islam A Abdelhakim
- Natural Product Biosynthesis Research Unit, RIKEN CSRS, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt
| | - Yushi Futamura
- Chemical Resource Development Research Unit and Drug Discovery Chemical Bank Unit, RIKEN CSRS, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Yukihiro Asami
- O̅mura Satoshi Memorial Institute, Kitasato University, Tokyo 108-8641, Japan
| | - Hideaki Hanaki
- O̅mura Satoshi Memorial Institute, Kitasato University, Tokyo 108-8641, Japan
| | - Naoko Kito
- Natural Product Biosynthesis Research Unit, RIKEN CSRS, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Sachiko Masuda
- Plant Immunity Research Group, RIKEN CSRS, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan
| | - Arisa Shibata
- Plant Immunity Research Group, RIKEN CSRS, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan
| | - Atsuya Muranaka
- Molecular Structure Characterization Unit, RIKEN CSRS, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Koshino
- Molecular Structure Characterization Unit, RIKEN CSRS, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Ken Shirasu
- Plant Immunity Research Group, RIKEN CSRS, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Osada
- Chemical Resource Development Research Unit and Drug Discovery Chemical Bank Unit, RIKEN CSRS, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Jun Ishikawa
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, 162-8640, Japan
| | - Shunji Takahashi
- Natural Product Biosynthesis Research Unit, RIKEN CSRS, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
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Jangid H, Garg S, Kashyap P, Karnwal A, Shidiki A, Kumar G. Bioprospecting of Aspergillus sp. as a promising repository for anti-cancer agents: a comprehensive bibliometric investigation. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1379602. [PMID: 38812679 PMCID: PMC11133633 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1379602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Cancer remains a significant global health challenge, claiming nearly 10 million lives in 2020 according to the World Health Organization. In the quest for novel treatments, fungi, especially Aspergillus species, have emerged as a valuable source of bioactive compounds with promising anticancer properties. This study conducts a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to map the research landscape of Aspergillus in oncology, examining publications from 1982 to the present. We observed a marked increase in research activity starting in 2000, with a notable peak from 2005 onwards. The analysis identifies key contributors, including Mohamed GG, who has authored 15 papers with 322 citations, and El-Sayed Asa, with 14 papers and 264 citations. Leading countries in this research field include India, Egypt, and China, with King Saud University and Cairo University as the leading institutions. Prominent research themes identified are "endophyte," "green synthesis," "antimicrobial," "anti-cancer," and "biological activities," indicating a shift towards environmentally sustainable drug development. Our findings highlight the considerable potential of Aspergillus for developing new anticancer therapies and underscore the necessity for further research to harness these natural compounds for clinical use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Himanshu Jangid
- School of Bioengineering and Biosciences, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar, Punjab, India
| | - Sonu Garg
- Department of Biotechnology, Mahatma Jyoti Rao Phoole University, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
| | - Piyush Kashyap
- School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar, Punjab, India
| | - Arun Karnwal
- School of Bioengineering and Biosciences, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar, Punjab, India
| | - Amrullah Shidiki
- Department of Microbiology, National Medical College & Teaching Hospital, Birgunj, Nepal
| | - Gaurav Kumar
- School of Bioengineering and Biosciences, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar, Punjab, India
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Liu Y, Li P, Qi C, Zha Z, Meng J, Liu C, Han J, Zhou Q, Luo Z, Wang J, Zhu H, Ye Y, Chen C, Zhou Y, Zhang Y. Cryptic piperazine derivatives activated by knocking out the global regulator LaeA in Aspergillus flavipes. Bioorg Med Chem 2024; 103:117685. [PMID: 38503009 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2024.117685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Revised: 03/02/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Genome sequencing on an intertidal zone-derived Aspergillus flavipes strain revealed its great potential to produce secondary metabolites. To activate the cryptic compounds of A. flavipes, the global regulator flLaeA was knocked out, leading to substantial up-regulation of the expression of two NRPS-like biosynthetic gene clusters in the ΔflLaeA mutant. With a scaled-up fermentation of the ΔflLaeA strain, five compounds, including two previously undescribed piperazine derivatives flavipamides A and B (1 and 2), along with three known compounds (3-5), were obtained by LC-MS guided isolation. The new compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations, and the biosynthetic pathway was proposed on the bias of bioinformatic analysis and 13C isotope labeling evidence. This is the first report to access cryptic fungi secondary metabolites by inactivating global regulator LaeA and may provide a new approach to discovering new secondary metabolites by such genetic manipulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaping Liu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China
| | - Pengkun Li
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China
| | - Changxing Qi
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China
| | - Ziou Zha
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China
| | - Jie Meng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China
| | - Chang Liu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiapei Han
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China
| | - Qun Zhou
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China
| | - Zengwei Luo
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianping Wang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China
| | - Hucheng Zhu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Ye
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China
| | - Chunmei Chen
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yuan Zhou
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yonghui Zhang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China.
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Gamal A, Fikry E, Tawfeek N, El-Shafae AM, El-Sayed ASA, El-Domiaty MM. Production and bioprocessing of Taxol from Aspergillus niger, an endophyte of Encephalartos whitelockii, with a plausible biosynthetic stability: antiproliferative activity and cell cycle analysis. Microb Cell Fact 2024; 23:78. [PMID: 38475853 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-024-02356-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The biosynthetic potency of Taxol by fungi raises their prospective to be a platform for commercial production of Taxol, nevertheless, the attenuation of its productivity with the fungal storage, is the challenge. Thus, screening for a novel fungal isolate inhabiting ethnopharmacological plants, with a plausible metabolic stability for Taxol production could be one of the most affordable approaches. Aspergillus niger OR414905.1, an endophyte of Encephalartos whitelockii, had the highest Taxol productivity (173.9 μg/L). The chemical identity of the purified Taxol was confirmed by HPLC, FTIR, and LC-MS/MS analyses, exhibiting the same molecular mass (854.5 m/z) and molecular fragmentation pattern of the authentic Taxol. The purified Taxol exhibited a potent antiproliferative activity against HepG-2, MCF-7 and Caco-2, with IC50 values 0.011, 0.016, and 0.067 μM, respectively, in addition to a significant activity against A. flavus, as a model of human fungal pathogen. The purified Taxol displayed a significant effect against the cellular migration of HepG-2 and MCF-7 cells, by ~ 52-59% after 72 h, compared to the control, confirming its interference with the cellular matrix formation. Furthermore, the purified Taxol exhibited a significant ability to prompt apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, by about 11-fold compared to control cells, suppressing their division at G2/M phase. Taxol productivity by A. niger has been optimized by the response surface methodology with Plackett-Burman Design and Central Composite Design, resulting in a remarkable ~ 1.6-fold increase (279.8 μg/L), over the control. The biological half-life time of Taxol productivity by A. niger was ~ 6 months of preservation at 4 ℃, however, the Taxol yield by A. niger was partially restored in response to ethyl acetate extracts of E. whitelockii, ensuring the presence of plant-derived signals that triggers the cryptic Taxol encoding genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asmaa Gamal
- Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt
| | - Eman Fikry
- Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt
| | - Nora Tawfeek
- Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt
| | - Azza M El-Shafae
- Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt
| | - Ashraf S A El-Sayed
- Enzymology and Fungal Biotechnology Lab, Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt.
| | - Maher M El-Domiaty
- Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt
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Li X, Xu H, Li Y, Liao S, Liu Y. Exploring Diverse Bioactive Secondary Metabolites from Marine Microorganisms Using Co-Culture Strategy. Molecules 2023; 28:6371. [PMID: 37687200 PMCID: PMC10489945 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28176371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The isolation and identification of an increasing number of secondary metabolites featuring unique skeletons and possessing diverse bioactivities sourced from marine microorganisms have garnered the interest of numerous natural product chemists. There has been a growing emphasis on how to cultivate microorganisms to enhance the chemical diversity of metabolites and avoid the rediscovery of known ones. Given the significance of secondary metabolites as a means of communication among microorganisms, microbial co-culture has been introduced. By mimicking the growth patterns of microbial communities in their natural habitats, the co-culture strategy is anticipated to stimulate biosynthetic gene clusters that remain dormant under traditional laboratory culture conditions, thereby inducing the production of novel secondary metabolites. Different from previous reviews mainly focusing on fermentation conditions or metabolite diversities from marine-derived co-paired strains, this review covers the marine-derived co-culture microorganisms from 2012 to 2022, and turns to a particular discussion highlighting the selection of co-paired strains for marine-derived microorganisms, especially the fermentation methods for their co-cultural apparatus, and the screening approaches for the convenient and rapid detection of novel metabolites, as these are important in the co-culture. Finally, the structural and bioactivity diversities of molecules are also discussed. The challenges and prospects of co-culture are discussed on behave of the views of the authors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolin Li
- Research Center for Marine Microbes, CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Huayan Xu
- Wuya College of Innovation, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China
| | - Yuyue Li
- Research Center for Marine Microbes, CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shengrong Liao
- Research Center for Marine Microbes, CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yonghong Liu
- Research Center for Marine Microbes, CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Wuya College of Innovation, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China
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Salamzade R, Tran P, Martin C, Manson AL, Gilmore MS, Earl AM, Anantharaman K, Kalan LR. zol & fai: large-scale targeted detection and evolutionary investigation of gene clusters. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.07.544063. [PMID: 37333121 PMCID: PMC10274777 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.07.544063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Many universally and conditionally important genes are genomically aggregated within clusters. Here, we introduce fai and zol, which together enable large-scale comparative analysis of different types of gene clusters and mobile-genetic elements (MGEs), such as biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) or viruses. Fundamentally, they overcome a current bottleneck to reliably perform comprehensive orthology inference at large scale across broad taxonomic contexts and thousands of genomes. First, fai allows the identification of orthologous or homologous instances of a query gene cluster of interest amongst a database of target genomes. Subsequently, zol enables reliable, context-specific inference of protein-encoding ortholog groups for individual genes across gene cluster instances. In addition, zol performs functional annotation and computes a variety of statistics for each inferred ortholog group. These programs are showcased through application to: (i) longitudinal tracking of a virus in metagenomes, (ii) discovering novel population-genetic insights of two common BGCs in a fungal species, and (iii) uncovering large-scale evolutionary trends of a virulence-associated gene cluster across thousands of genomes from a diverse bacterial genus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rauf Salamzade
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Patricia Tran
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Freshwater and Marine Science Doctoral Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA
| | - Cody Martin
- Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Abigail L. Manson
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Michael S. Gilmore
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School and Mass Eye and Ear, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School and Mass Eye and Ear, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ashlee M. Earl
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Lindsay R. Kalan
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, David Braley Centre for Antibiotic Discovery, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Yu W, Pei R, Zhou J, Zeng B, Tu Y, He B. Molecular regulation of fungal secondary metabolism. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 2023; 39:204. [PMID: 37209190 DOI: 10.1007/s11274-023-03649-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Many bioactive secondary metabolites synthesized by fungi have important applications in many fields, such as agriculture, food, medical and others. The biosynthesis of secondary metabolites is a complex process involving a variety of enzymes and transcription factors, which are regulated at different levels. In this review, we describe our current understanding on molecular regulation of fungal secondary metabolite biosynthesis, such as environmental signal regulation, transcriptional regulation and epigenetic regulation. The effects of transcription factors on the secondary metabolites produced by fungi were mainly introduced. It was also discussed that new secondary metabolites could be found in fungi and the production of secondary metabolites could be improved. We also highlight the importance of understanding the molecular regulation mechanisms to activate silent secondary metabolites and uncover their physiological and ecological functions. By comprehensively understanding the regulatory mechanisms involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis, we can develop strategies to improve the production of these compounds and maximize their potential benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenbin Yu
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Bioprocess Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Science & Technology Normal University, Nanchang, 330013, Jiangxi, China
| | - Rongqiang Pei
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Bioprocess Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Science & Technology Normal University, Nanchang, 330013, Jiangxi, China
| | - Jingyi Zhou
- Zhanjiang Preschool Education College, Zhanjiang, 524084, Guangdong, China
| | - Bin Zeng
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Bioprocess Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Science & Technology Normal University, Nanchang, 330013, Jiangxi, China
- College of Pharmacy, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen, 518000, Guangdong, China
| | - Yayi Tu
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Bioprocess Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Science & Technology Normal University, Nanchang, 330013, Jiangxi, China.
| | - Bin He
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Bioprocess Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Science & Technology Normal University, Nanchang, 330013, Jiangxi, China.
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Wang L, Deng Y, Peng R, Gao J, Li Z, Zhang W, Xu J, Wang B, Wang Y, Han H, Fu X, Tian Y, Yao Q. Metabolic engineering for the biosynthesis of bis-indolylquinone terrequinone A in Escherichia coli from L-tryptophan and prenol. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2023; 16:34. [PMID: 36859334 PMCID: PMC9979454 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-023-02284-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Terrequinone A is a bis-indolylquinone natural product with antitumor activity. Due to its unique asymmetric quinone core structure and multiple functional groups, biosynthesis is more efficient and environmentally friendly than traditional chemical synthesis. Currently, most bis-indolylquinones are obtained by direct extraction from fungi or by chemical synthesis. By focusing on the biosynthesis of terrequinone A, we hope to explore the way to synthesize bis-indolylquinones de novo using Escherichia coli as a cell factory. RESULTS In this study, a terrequinone A synthesis pathway containing the tdiA-tdiE genes was constructed into Escherichia coli and activated by a phosphopantetheinyl transferase gene sfp, enabling the strain to synthesize 1.54 mg/L of terrequinone A. Subsequently, a two-step isopentenol utilization pathway was introduced to enhance the supply of endogenous dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) in E. coli, increasing the level of terrequinone A to 20.1 mg/L. By adjusting the L-tryptophan (L-Trp)/prenol ratio, the major product could be changed from ochrindole D to terrequinone A, and the content of terrequinone A reached the highest 106.3 mg/L under the optimized culture conditions. Metabolic analysis of L-Trp indicated that the conversion of large amounts of L-Trp to indole was an important factor preventing the further improvement of terrequinone A yield. CONCLUSIONS A comprehensive approach was adopted and terrequinone A was successfully synthesized from low-cost L-Trp and prenol in E. coli. This study provides a metabolic engineering strategy for the efficient synthesis of terrequinone A and other similar bis-indolylquinones with asymmetric quinone cores. In addition, this is the first report on the de novo biosyhthesis of terrequinone A in an engineered strain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijuan Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology Research Institute of Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2901 Beidi Road, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory for Safety Assessment (Environment) of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China
| | - Yongdong Deng
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology Research Institute of Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2901 Beidi Road, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory for Safety Assessment (Environment) of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China
| | - Rihe Peng
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology Research Institute of Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2901 Beidi Road, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory for Safety Assessment (Environment) of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianjie Gao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology Research Institute of Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2901 Beidi Road, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory for Safety Assessment (Environment) of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhenjun Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology Research Institute of Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2901 Beidi Road, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory for Safety Assessment (Environment) of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China
| | - Wenhui Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology Research Institute of Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2901 Beidi Road, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory for Safety Assessment (Environment) of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China
| | - Jing Xu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology Research Institute of Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2901 Beidi Road, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory for Safety Assessment (Environment) of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China
| | - Bo Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology Research Institute of Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2901 Beidi Road, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory for Safety Assessment (Environment) of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China
| | - Yu Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology Research Institute of Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2901 Beidi Road, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory for Safety Assessment (Environment) of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China
| | - Hongjuan Han
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology Research Institute of Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2901 Beidi Road, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory for Safety Assessment (Environment) of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaoyan Fu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology Research Institute of Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2901 Beidi Road, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory for Safety Assessment (Environment) of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China
| | - Yongsheng Tian
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology Research Institute of Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2901 Beidi Road, Shanghai, China.
- Key Laboratory for Safety Assessment (Environment) of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China.
| | - Quanhong Yao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology Research Institute of Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2901 Beidi Road, Shanghai, China.
- Key Laboratory for Safety Assessment (Environment) of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China.
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Jenkinson CB, Podgorny AR, Zhong C, Oakley BR. Computer-aided, resistance gene-guided genome mining for proteasome and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2023; 50:kuad045. [PMID: 38061800 PMCID: PMC10734572 DOI: 10.1093/jimb/kuad045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
Secondary metabolites (SMs) are biologically active small molecules, many of which are medically valuable. Fungal genomes contain vast numbers of SM biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) with unknown products, suggesting that huge numbers of valuable SMs remain to be discovered. It is challenging, however, to identify SM BGCs, among the millions present in fungi, that produce useful compounds. One solution is resistance gene-guided genome mining, which takes advantage of the fact that some BGCs contain a gene encoding a resistant version of the protein targeted by the compound produced by the BGC. The bioinformatic signature of such BGCs is that they contain an allele of an essential gene with no SM biosynthetic function, and there is a second allele elsewhere in the genome. We have developed a computer-assisted approach to resistance gene-guided genome mining that allows users to query large databases for BGCs that putatively make compounds that have targets of therapeutic interest. Working with the MycoCosm genome database, we have applied this approach to look for SM BGCs that target the proteasome β6 subunit, the target of the proteasome inhibitor fellutamide B, or HMG-CoA reductase, the target of cholesterol reducing therapeutics such as lovastatin. Our approach proved effective, finding known fellutamide and lovastatin BGCs as well as fellutamide- and lovastatin-related BGCs with variations in the SM genes that suggest they may produce structural variants of fellutamides and lovastatin. Gratifyingly, we also found BGCs that are not closely related to lovastatin BGCs but putatively produce novel HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. ONE-SENTENCE SUMMARY A new computer-assisted approach to resistance gene-directed genome mining is reported along with its use to identify fungal biosynthetic gene clusters that putatively produce proteasome and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cory B Jenkinson
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045,USA
| | - Adam R Podgorny
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045,USA
| | - Cuncong Zhong
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045,USA
| | - Berl R Oakley
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045,USA
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10
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Singh G. Linking Lichen Metabolites to Genes: Emerging Concepts and Lessons from Molecular Biology and Metagenomics. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:jof9020160. [PMID: 36836275 PMCID: PMC9964704 DOI: 10.3390/jof9020160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Lichen secondary metabolites have tremendous pharmaceutical and industrial potential. Although more than 1000 metabolites have been reported from lichens, less than 10 have been linked to the genes coding them. The current biosynthetic research focuses strongly on linking molecules to genes as this is fundamental to adapting the molecule for industrial application. Metagenomic-based gene discovery, which bypasses the challenges associated with culturing an organism, is a promising way forward to link secondary metabolites to genes in non-model, difficult-to-culture organisms. This approach is based on the amalgamation of the knowledge of the evolutionary relationships of the biosynthetic genes, the structure of the target molecule, and the biosynthetic machinery required for its synthesis. So far, metagenomic-based gene discovery is the predominant approach by which lichen metabolites have been linked to their genes. Although the structures of most of the lichen secondary metabolites are well-documented, a comprehensive review of the metabolites linked to their genes, strategies implemented to establish this link, and crucial takeaways from these studies is not available. In this review, I address the following knowledge gaps and, additionally, provide critical insights into the results of these studies, elaborating on the direct and serendipitous lessons that we have learned from them.
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11
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Rabot C, Chen Y, Bijlani S, Chiang Y, Oakley CE, Oakley BR, Williams TJ, Wang CCC. Conversion of Polyethylenes into Fungal Secondary Metabolites. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202214609. [PMID: 36417558 PMCID: PMC10100090 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202214609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Waste plastics represent major environmental and economic burdens due to their ubiquity, slow breakdown rates, and inadequacy of current recycling routes. Polyethylenes are particularly problematic, because they lack robust recycling approaches despite being the most abundant plastics in use today. We report a novel chemical and biological approach for the rapid conversion of polyethylenes into structurally complex and pharmacologically active compounds. We present conditions for aerobic, catalytic digestion of polyethylenes collected from post-consumer and oceanic waste streams, creating carboxylic diacids that can then be used as a carbon source by the fungus Aspergillus nidulans. As a proof of principle, we have engineered strains of A. nidulans to synthesize the fungal secondary metabolites asperbenzaldehyde, citreoviridin, and mutilin when grown on these digestion products. This hybrid approach considerably expands the range of products to which polyethylenes can be upcycled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris Rabot
- Department of Pharmacology & Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of Southern California1985 Zonal AveLos AngelesCA 90033USA
| | - Yuhao Chen
- Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Hydrocarbon Institute and Department of ChemistryUniversity of Southern California837 Bloom WalkLos AngelesCA 90089USA
- Wrigley Institute for Environmental StudiesUniversity of Southern California3454 Trousdale ParkwayLos AngelesCA 90089USA
| | - Swati Bijlani
- Department of Pharmacology & Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of Southern California1985 Zonal AveLos AngelesCA 90033USA
| | - Yi‐Ming Chiang
- Department of Pharmacology & Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of Southern California1985 Zonal AveLos AngelesCA 90033USA
| | - C. Elizabeth Oakley
- Department of Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of Kansas1200 Sunnyside AvenueLawrenceKS 66045USA
| | - Berl R. Oakley
- Department of Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of Kansas1200 Sunnyside AvenueLawrenceKS 66045USA
| | - Travis J. Williams
- Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Hydrocarbon Institute and Department of ChemistryUniversity of Southern California837 Bloom WalkLos AngelesCA 90089USA
- Wrigley Institute for Environmental StudiesUniversity of Southern California3454 Trousdale ParkwayLos AngelesCA 90089USA
| | - Clay C. C. Wang
- Department of Pharmacology & Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of Southern California1985 Zonal AveLos AngelesCA 90033USA
- Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Hydrocarbon Institute and Department of ChemistryUniversity of Southern California837 Bloom WalkLos AngelesCA 90089USA
- Wrigley Institute for Environmental StudiesUniversity of Southern California3454 Trousdale ParkwayLos AngelesCA 90089USA
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12
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Shen Y, Zhang Y, Zhang H, Wang X, Chen J, Li Y. Integrated Transcriptome and Untargeted Metabolomic Analyses Revealed the Role of Methyltransferase Lae1 in the Regulation of Phospholipid Metabolism in Trichoderma atroviride. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:jof9010120. [PMID: 36675941 PMCID: PMC9864869 DOI: 10.3390/jof9010120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The putative methyltransferase Lae1 is a global regulator in Trichoderma, which modulates the expression of secondary metabolite gene clusters, possibly via chromatin remodeling. Here we aimed to explore the specific transcription and metabolites profiles regulated by Lae1 in T. atroviride 23. Comparative transcriptomics and metabolome analyses between the lae1 deletion (Mlae1) and over-expressing (Olae1) mutants were performed using RNA sequencing and QTOF-UPLC-MS techniques. In total, 1344 unique differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 92 metabolites were identified across three strains. The significantly altered metabolic profiles revealed that the lae1 gene modulates central carbon metabolism, amino acid metabolism, secondary metabolism, and phospholipid metabolism. The effects of lae1 on phospholipid metabolism were further explored, and the findings showed that lae1 modulates the composition and function of cell membranes and other metabolic activities, including the phosphotransferase system (PTS) and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites (SM). Phospholipid metabolism is related to energy metabolism, signal transduction, and environmental adaptability of microorganisms. These data showed that Lae1 affects the primary metabolites, phospholipid, as well as the regulation of secondary metabolites in Trichoderma. This study could potentially provoke in-depth investigations of the Lae1-mediated target genes in phospholipid synthesis. The Lae1 may act as a novel target that is associated with disease defense and drug development in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanxiang Shen
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yiwen Zhang
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Hui Zhang
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Xinhua Wang
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- Agriculture (South), Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Jie Chen
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- Agriculture (South), Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yaqian Li
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- Agriculture (South), Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai 200240, China
- Correspondence:
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13
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Yang Y, Yu L, Qiu X, Xiong D, Tian C. A putative terpene cyclase gene ( CcPtc1) is required for fungal development and virulence in Cytospora chrysosperma. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1084828. [PMID: 36891381 PMCID: PMC9986285 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1084828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Cytospora chrysosperma is a destructive plant pathogenic fungus, which causes canker disease on numerous woody plants. However, knowledge concerning the interaction between C. chrysosperma and its host remains limited. Secondary metabolites produced by phytopathogens often play important roles in their virulence. Terpene cyclases (TC), polyketide synthases (PKS) and non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS) are the key components for the synthesis of secondary metabolites. Here, we characterized the functions of a putative terpene type secondary metabolite biosynthetic core gene CcPtc1 in C. chrysosperma, which was significantly up-regulated in the early stages of infection. Importantly, deletion of CcPtc1 greatly reduced fungal virulence to the poplar twigs and they also showed significantly reduced fungal growth and conidiation compared with the wild-type (WT) strain. Furthermore, toxicity test of the crude extraction from each strain showed that the toxicity of crude extraction secreted by ΔCcPtc1 were strongly compromised in comparison with the WT strain. Subsequently, the untargeted metabolomics analyses between ΔCcPtc1 mutant and WT strain were conducted, which revealed 193 significantly different abundant metabolites (DAMs) inΔCcPtc1 mutant compared to the WT strain, including 90 significantly downregulated metabolites and 103 significantly up-regulated metabolites, respectively. Among them, four key metabolic pathways that reported to be important for fungal virulence were enriched, including pantothenate and coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis. Moreover, we also detected significant alterations in a series of terpenoids, among which (+)-ar-turmerone, pulegone, ethyl chrysanthemumate, and genipin were significantly down-regulated, while cuminaldehyde and (±)-abscisic acid were significantly up-regulated. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that CcPtc1 acts as a virulence-related secondary metabolism factor and provides new insights into the pathogenesis of C. chrysosperma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuchen Yang
- The Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Lu Yu
- The Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaolin Qiu
- The Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Dianguang Xiong
- The Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Chengming Tian
- The Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
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14
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Lawrinowitz S, Wurlitzer JM, Weiss D, Arndt HD, Kothe E, Gressler M, Hoffmeister D. Blue Light-Dependent Pre-mRNA Splicing Controls Pigment Biosynthesis in the Mushroom Terana caerulea. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0106522. [PMID: 36094086 PMCID: PMC9603100 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01065-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Light induces the production of ink-blue pentacyclic natural products, the corticin pigments, in the cobalt crust mushroom Terana caerulea. Here, we describe the genetic locus for corticin biosynthesis and provide evidence for a light-dependent dual transcriptional/cotranscriptional regulatory mechanism. Light selectively induces the expression of the corA gene encoding the gateway enzyme, the first described mushroom polyporic acid synthetase CorA, while other biosynthetic genes for modifying enzymes necessary to complete corticin assembly are induced only at lower levels. The strongest corA induction was observed following exposure to blue and UV light. A second layer of regulation is provided by the light-dependent splicing of the three introns in the pre-mRNA of corA. Our results provide insight into the fundamental organization of how mushrooms regulate natural product biosynthesis. IMPORTANCE The regulation of natural product biosyntheses in mushrooms in response to environmental cues is poorly understood. We addressed this knowledge gap and chose the cobalt crust mushroom Terana caerulea as our model. Our work discovered a dual-level regulatory mechanism that connects light as an abiotic stimulus with a physiological response, i.e., the production of dark-blue pigments. Exposure to blue light elicits strongly increased transcription of the gene encoding the gateway enzyme, the polyporic acid synthetase CorA, that catalyzes the formation of the pigment core structure. Additionally, light is a prerequisite for the full splicing of corA pre-mRNA and, thus, its proper maturation. Dual transcriptional/cotranscriptional light-dependent control of fungal natural product biosynthesis has previously been unknown. As it allows the tight control of a key metabolic step, it may be a much more prevalent mechanism among these organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Lawrinowitz
- Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institute of Pharmacy, Jena, Germany
- Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Jacob M. Wurlitzer
- Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institute of Pharmacy, Jena, Germany
- Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Dieter Weiss
- Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institute for Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry, Jena, Germany
| | - Hans-Dieter Arndt
- Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institute for Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry, Jena, Germany
| | - Erika Kothe
- Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institute for Microbiology, Jena, Germany
| | - Markus Gressler
- Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institute of Pharmacy, Jena, Germany
- Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Dirk Hoffmeister
- Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institute of Pharmacy, Jena, Germany
- Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
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15
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Schüller A, Studt-Reinhold L, Strauss J. How to Completely Squeeze a Fungus-Advanced Genome Mining Tools for Novel Bioactive Substances. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:1837. [PMID: 36145585 PMCID: PMC9505985 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14091837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Fungal species have the capability of producing an overwhelming diversity of bioactive substances that can have beneficial but also detrimental effects on human health. These so-called secondary metabolites naturally serve as antimicrobial "weapon systems", signaling molecules or developmental effectors for fungi and hence are produced only under very specific environmental conditions or stages in their life cycle. However, as these complex conditions are difficult or even impossible to mimic in laboratory settings, only a small fraction of the true chemical diversity of fungi is known so far. This also implies that a large space for potentially new pharmaceuticals remains unexplored. We here present an overview on current developments in advanced methods that can be used to explore this chemical space. We focus on genetic and genomic methods, how to detect genes that harbor the blueprints for the production of these compounds (i.e., biosynthetic gene clusters, BGCs), and ways to activate these silent chromosomal regions. We provide an in-depth view of the chromatin-level regulation of BGCs and of the potential to use the CRISPR/Cas technology as an activation tool.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Joseph Strauss
- Institute of Microbial Genetics, Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, A-3430 Tulln/Donau, Austria
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16
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Liu J, Wang X, Dai G, Zhang Y, Bian X. Microbial chassis engineering drives heterologous production of complex secondary metabolites. Biotechnol Adv 2022; 59:107966. [PMID: 35487394 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2022.107966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2022] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The cryptic secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) far outnumber currently known secondary metabolites. Heterologous production of secondary metabolite BGCs in suitable chassis facilitates yield improvement and discovery of new-to-nature compounds. The two juxtaposed conventional model microorganisms, Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, have been harnessed as microbial chassis to produce a bounty of secondary metabolites with the help of certain host engineering. In last decade, engineering non-model microbes to efficiently biosynthesize secondary metabolites has received increasing attention due to their peculiar advantages in metabolic networks and/or biosynthesis. The state-of-the-art synthetic biology tools lead the way in operating genetic manipulation in non-model microorganisms for phenotypic optimization or yields improvement of desired secondary metabolites. In this review, we firstly discuss the pros and cons of several model and non-model microbial chassis, as well as the importance of developing broader non-model microorganisms as alternative programmable heterologous hosts to satisfy the desperate needs of biosynthesis study and industrial production. Then we highlight the lately advances in the synthetic biology tools and engineering strategies for optimization of non-model microbial chassis, in particular, the successful applications for efficient heterologous production of multifarious complex secondary metabolites, e.g., polyketides, nonribosomal peptides, as well as ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides. Lastly, emphasis is on the perspectives of chassis cells development to access the ideal cell factory in the artificial intelligence-driven genome era.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqi Liu
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University-Helmholtz Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong 266237, PR China; Present address: Helmholtz-Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Saarland University, Campus E8 1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Xue Wang
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University-Helmholtz Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong 266237, PR China
| | - Guangzhi Dai
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University-Helmholtz Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong 266237, PR China
| | - Youming Zhang
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University-Helmholtz Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong 266237, PR China
| | - Xiaoying Bian
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University-Helmholtz Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong 266237, PR China.
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17
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Fierro F, Vaca I, Castillo NI, García-Rico RO, Chávez R. Penicillium chrysogenum, a Vintage Model with a Cutting-Edge Profile in Biotechnology. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10030573. [PMID: 35336148 PMCID: PMC8954384 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10030573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Revised: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The discovery of penicillin entailed a decisive breakthrough in medicine. No other medical advance has ever had the same impact in the clinical practise. The fungus Penicillium chrysogenum (reclassified as P. rubens) has been used for industrial production of penicillin ever since the forties of the past century; industrial biotechnology developed hand in hand with it, and currently P. chrysogenum is a thoroughly studied model for secondary metabolite production and regulation. In addition to its role as penicillin producer, recent synthetic biology advances have put P. chrysogenum on the path to become a cell factory for the production of metabolites with biotechnological interest. In this review, we tell the history of P. chrysogenum, from the discovery of penicillin and the first isolation of strains with high production capacity to the most recent research advances with the fungus. We will describe how classical strain improvement programs achieved the goal of increasing production and how the development of different molecular tools allowed further improvements. The discovery of the penicillin gene cluster, the origin of the penicillin genes, the regulation of penicillin production, and a compilation of other P. chrysogenum secondary metabolites will also be covered and updated in this work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Fierro
- Departamento de Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Unidad Iztapalapa, Ciudad de México 09340, Mexico
- Correspondence:
| | - Inmaculada Vaca
- Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago 7800003, Chile;
| | - Nancy I. Castillo
- Grupo de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas y Químicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogotá 110231, Colombia;
| | - Ramón Ovidio García-Rico
- Grupo de Investigación GIMBIO, Departamento De Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad de Pamplona, Pamplona 543050, Colombia;
| | - Renato Chávez
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago 9170020, Chile;
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A Abdelhakim I, Bin Mahmud F, Motoyama T, Futamura Y, Takahashi S, Osada H. Dihydrolucilactaene, a Potent Antimalarial Compound from Fusarium sp. RK97-94. JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS 2022; 85:63-69. [PMID: 34949088 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.1c00677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
A recently discovered secondary metabolism regulator, NPD938, was used to alter the secondary metabolite profile in Fusarium sp. RK97-94. Three lucilactaene analogues were detected via UPLC-ESI-MS analysis in NPD938-treated culture. The three metabolites were successfully purified and identified as dihydroNG391 (1), dihydrolucilactaene (2), and 13α-hydroxylucilactaene (3) via extensive spectroscopic analyses. DihydroNG391 (1) exhibited weak in vitro antimalarial activity (IC50 = 62 μM). In contrast, dihydrolucilactaene (2) and 13α-hydroxylucilactaene (3) showed very potent antimalarial activity (IC50 = 0.0015 and 0.68 μM, respectively). These findings provide insight into the structure-activity relationship of lucilactaene and its analogues as antimalarial lead compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Islam A Abdelhakim
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Sakura, Saitama 338-8570, Japan
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt
- Chemical Biology Research Group, RIKEN CSRS, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
- Natural Product Biosynthesis Research Unit, RIKEN CSRS, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Fauze Bin Mahmud
- Chemical Biology Research Group, RIKEN CSRS, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
- Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia
- Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sabah 88400, Malaysia
| | - Takayuki Motoyama
- Chemical Biology Research Group, RIKEN CSRS, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Yushi Futamura
- Chemical Biology Research Group, RIKEN CSRS, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Shunji Takahashi
- Natural Product Biosynthesis Research Unit, RIKEN CSRS, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Osada
- Chemical Biology Research Group, RIKEN CSRS, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
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19
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Du X, Li H, Qi J, Chen C, Lu Y, Wang Y. Genome mining of secondary metabolites from a marine-derived Aspergillus terreus B12. Arch Microbiol 2021; 203:5621-5633. [PMID: 34459930 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-021-02548-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 08/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Owing to the prominent capabilities of bioconversion and biosynthesis, A. terreus has become attractive in biotechnical and pharmaceutical industry. In this work, an Aspergillus strain with potential antibacterial activities, was isolated from sponge in South China Sea. Based on the morphological and phylogenetic analysis, the strain was identified as A. terreus B12. Via the Illumina MiSeq sequencing platform, the complete genome was obtained, showing a genetic richness of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), which might underpin the metabolic plasticity and adaptive resilience for the strain. Genome mining identified 67 BGCs, among which, 6 gene clusters could allocate to known BGCs (100% identity), corresponding to diverse metabolites like clavaric acid, dihydroisoflavipucine/isoflavipucine, dimethylcoprogen, alternariol, aspterric acid, and pyranonigrin E. Moreover, a range of compounds was isolated from B12 fermentation, e.g., terrein, butyrolactone I, terretonin A&E, acoapetaline B, and epi-aszonalenins A. Of note, acoapetaline B and epi-aszonalenins A, which had been respectively reported in plants and A. novofumigatus but with scarce information, was unexpectedly obtained from this species for the first time. The genomic and metabolic heterogeneity observed in strain B12, should be at least partially attributed to the genetic variability and biochemical diversity of A. terreus, which could be an interesting issue open to future efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyang Du
- School of Life Science and Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, China
| | - Huanhuan Li
- School of Life Science and Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, China
| | - Jiangfeng Qi
- School of Life Science and Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, China
| | - Chaoyi Chen
- School of Life Science and Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, China
| | - Yuanyuan Lu
- School of Life Science and Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, China
| | - Ying Wang
- School of Life Science and Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, China.
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Li T, Zhang Z, Wang Y, Li Y, Zhu J, Hu R, Yang Y, Liu M. Quantitative Proteomic Analysis for High- and Low-Aflatoxin-Yield Aspergillus flavus Strains Isolated From Natural Environments. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:741875. [PMID: 34621259 PMCID: PMC8491651 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.741875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The molecular mechanisms underlying aflatoxin production have been well-studied in strains of the fungus Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) under artificial conditions. However, aflatoxin biosynthesis has rarely been studied in A. flavus strains isolated from field conditions with different aflatoxin-producing ability. In the present study, tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with tandem-mass spectrometry analysis were used for proteomic quantification in natural isolates of high- and low-aflatoxin-yield A. flavus strains. Additionally, findings obtained using the TMT-labeling method were validated using the high-resolution multiple reaction monitoring (MRM-HR) method. In total, 4,363 proteins were quantified, among which 1,045 proteins were differentially expressed between the high- and low-aflatoxin-yield A. flavus strains. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the up-regulated proteins were significantly enriched in carbon-related metabolism and the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, whereas the down-regulated proteins were enriched in oxidative phosphorylation. Moreover, GST proteins were found to be significantly down-regulated in high-yield A. flavus strains; this result contradicted previous findings obtained from A. flavus strains grown under artificial conditions. In summary, our study provides novel insights into aflatoxin regulation in A. flavus under field conditions and could facilitate the development of various strategies for the effective control of aflatoxin contamination in food crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhaowei Zhang
- Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Yu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Ying Li
- State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jiang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Rui Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yunhuang Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Maili Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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21
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Huang L, Li X, Dong L, Wang B, Pan L. Profiling of chromatin accessibility identifies transcription factor binding sites across the genome of Aspergillus species. BMC Biol 2021; 19:189. [PMID: 34488759 PMCID: PMC8419926 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01114-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The identification of open chromatin regions and transcription factor binding sites (TFBs) is an important step in understanding the regulation of gene expression in diverse species. ATAC-seq is a technique used for such purpose by providing high-resolution measurements of chromatin accessibility revealed through integration of Tn5 transposase. However, the existence of cell walls in filamentous fungi and associated difficulty in purifying nuclei have precluded the routine application of this technique, leading to a lack of experimentally determined and computationally inferred data on the identity of genome-wide cis-regulatory elements (CREs) and TFBs. In this study, we constructed an ATAC-seq platform suitable for filamentous fungi and generated ATAC-seq libraries of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae grown under a variety of conditions. Results We applied the ATAC-seq assay for filamentous fungi to delineate the syntenic orthologue and differentially changed chromatin accessibility regions among different Aspergillus species, during different culture conditions, and among specific TF-deleted strains. The syntenic orthologues of accessible regions were responsible for the conservative functions across Aspergillus species, while regions differentially changed between culture conditions and TFs mutants drove differential gene expression programs. Importantly, we suggest criteria to determine TFBs through the analysis of unbalanced cleavage of distinct TF-bound DNA strands by Tn5 transposase. Based on this criterion, we constructed data libraries of the in vivo genomic footprint of A. niger under distinct conditions, and generated a database of novel transcription factor binding motifs through comparison of footprints in TF-deleted strains. Furthermore, we validated the novel TFBs in vivo through an artificial synthetic minimal promoter system. Conclusions We characterized the chromatin accessibility regions of filamentous fungi species, and identified a complete TFBs map by ATAC-seq, which provides valuable data for future analyses of transcriptional regulation in filamentous fungi. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-021-01114-0.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lianggang Huang
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Xuejie Li
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Liangbo Dong
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Bin Wang
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China. .,Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
| | - Li Pan
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China. .,Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
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22
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Physicochemical and antibacterial characterization of Aspergillus sp. filtrate-reduced graphene oxide. J IND ENG CHEM 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jiec.2021.05.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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23
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Jayalakshmi R, Oviya R, Premalatha K, Mehetre ST, Paramasivam M, Kannan R, Theradimani M, Pallavi MS, Mukherjee PK, Ramamoorthy V. Production, stability and degradation of Trichoderma gliotoxin in growth medium, irrigation water and agricultural soil. Sci Rep 2021; 11:16536. [PMID: 34400690 PMCID: PMC8367996 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-95907-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Gliotoxin produced by Trichoderma virens is inhibitory against various phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria. However, its stability in soil-ecosystem has not yet been well-defined. This study aimed to decipher its persistence and behaviour in growth media, irrigation water and soil ecosystems. Gliotoxin production was noticed at logarithmic growth phase and converted into bis-thiomethyl gliotoxin at late stationary growth phase of T. virens in acidic growth medium. But, no gliotoxin production was observed in neutral and alkaline growth medium. Gliotoxin was stable for several days in acidic water but degraded in alkaline water. Degradation of gliotoxin was more in unsterile soil than sterile soil and also that was higher under wet soil than dry soil. Degradation of gliotoxin was hastened by alkaline pH in wet soil but not in dry soil. Under unsterile soil conditions, high soil moisture increased the degradation of gliotoxin and the degradation of gliotoxin occurred quickly in alkaline soil (in 5 days) compared to acidic soil (in 10 days). Under sterile soil conditions, high soil moisture also enhanced the degradation of gliotoxin but level of degradation was less compared to unsterile conditions. Thus, gliotoxin stability is influenced mainly by the soil wetness, soil microbial community and pH conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Jayalakshmi
- Department of Plant Pathology, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - R Oviya
- Department of Plant Pathology, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - K Premalatha
- Department of Plant Pathology, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - S T Mehetre
- Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India
| | - M Paramasivam
- Pesticide Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - R Kannan
- Department of Plant Pathology, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Killikulam, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - M Theradimani
- Department of Plant Pathology, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - M S Pallavi
- Pesticide Residue and Food Quality Analysis Laboratory, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka, India
| | - Prasun K Mukherjee
- Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India
| | - V Ramamoorthy
- Department of Plant Pathology, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
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24
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Dudeja S, Chhokar V, Beniwal V, Badgujjar H, Chauhan R, Soni S, Kumar A. Optimization and production of antimicrobial compounds by Aspergillus flavus MTCC 13062 and its synergistic studies. BIOCATALYSIS AND AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bcab.2021.102065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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25
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El-Sayed ASA, Shindia AA, AbouZeid A, Koura A, Hassanein SE, Ahmed RM. Triggering the biosynthetic machinery of Taxol by Aspergillus flavipes via cocultivation with Bacillus subtilis: proteomic analyses emphasize the chromatin remodeling upon fungal-bacterial interaction. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2021; 28:39866-39881. [PMID: 33768456 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-13533-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Attenuating the Taxol biosynthesis by fungi with storage and subculturing is the major challenge that limits their further industrial applications. Aspergillus flavipes has been reported as a potent Taxol producer, with plausible increasing to its Taxol yield upon coculturing with the microbiome of Podocarpus gracilior (El-Sayed et al., Process Biochemistry 76:55-67, 2019a; Scientific Reports 9, 2019b; Enzyme and Microbial Technology 131, 2019c); however, the identity of these microbial inducers remains ambiguous. Thus, this study was to assess the potency of individual microbes to trigger the Taxol biosynthesis by A. flavipes and to unravel the differentially expressed protein in response to bacterial interaction. Among the 25 bacterial endophytes of P. gracilior, Bacillus subtilis was the potent isolate enhancing the Taxol yield of A. flavipes by ~1.6-fold. Strikingly, this bacterial elicitor displayed a reliable inhibition to the growth of A. flavipes, so the released antifungal compound by B. subtilis could be the same signals for triggering the expression of A. flavipes Taxol synthesis. The highest Taxol yield by A. flavipes was obtained with the viable cells of B. subtilis, ensuring the pivotality of physical intimate bacterial-fungal interaction. Differential proteome of the cocultures A. flavipes and B. subtilis as well as the axenic A. flavipes was conducted by LC-MS/MS. From the total of 106 identified proteins, 50 proteins were significantly expressed, 47 were upregulated ones, and 59 were downregulated ones for the cocultures normalizing to the axenic one. From the Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG enrichment analyses, the cellular process, primary metabolic process, and nitrogen compound metabolic process were significantly changed in the coculture normalizing to monoculture of A. flavipes. The molecular function terms (histones H2B, H2A, peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase, and nucleoside-diphosphate kinase (NDPK)) were the highly significantly expressed proteins of A. flavipes in response to B. subtilis, with strong correlation to triggering of Taxol biosynthesis. The intimate interaction of A. flavipes with B. subtilis strongly modulates the Taxol biosynthetic machinery of A. flavipes by modulating the chromatin remodeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashraf S A El-Sayed
- Enzymology and Fungal Biotechnology Lab (EFBL), Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt.
| | - Ahmed A Shindia
- Enzymology and Fungal Biotechnology Lab (EFBL), Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt
| | - Azza AbouZeid
- Enzymology and Fungal Biotechnology Lab (EFBL), Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt
| | - Alaa Koura
- Enzymology and Fungal Biotechnology Lab (EFBL), Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt
| | - Sameh E Hassanein
- Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI), Agriculture Research Center, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Rania M Ahmed
- Enzymology and Fungal Biotechnology Lab (EFBL), Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt
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26
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Wang B, Li X, Tabudravu J, Wang S, Deng H, Pan L. The chemical profile of activated secondary metabolites by overexpressing LaeA in Aspergillus niger. Microbiol Res 2021; 248:126735. [PMID: 33706119 DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2021.126735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2020] [Revised: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Although the mechanisms of regulating secondary metabolism by LaeA remains unclear, the synthesis of many secondary metabolites (SMs) in Aspergilli could be activated by LaeA mutation. In our previous sutdy, RNA-seq data has showed that the transcriptional level of many SM backbone genes could be upregulated by overexpressing LaeA. Herein, we analyzed the chemical profile of activated secondary metabolites in the variant of A. niger FGSC A1279 by overexpressing LaeA (OElaeA). 14 compounds were activated in A. niger FGSC A1279 OElaeA variant in the WATM medium. Chemical workup of organic extracts of the culture broth from the A. niger OElaeA mutant identified three pure compounds, flaviolin, orlandin and kotanin. The structures of these compounds were confirmed by HR-ESIMS, 1D/2D NMR, and computer assisted structure elucidation (CASE). Based on homologous alignment and comparison of literatures, the biosynthetic gene cluster (fla) of flaviolin was identified. The in vivo function of the backbone gene, flaA, encoding a multidomain non-reducing polyketide synthase (SAT-KS-AT-PT-ACP), was verified via gene knockout and chemical analysis. Finally, a biosynthetic model for fungal flaviolin was proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Wang
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Xuejie Li
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Jioji Tabudravu
- Marine Biodiscovery Centre, Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Meston Walk, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, Scotland, UK; School of Forensic and Applied Sciences, Faculty of Science & Technology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2HE, UK
| | - Shan Wang
- Marine Biodiscovery Centre, Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Meston Walk, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, Scotland, UK
| | - Hai Deng
- Marine Biodiscovery Centre, Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Meston Walk, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, Scotland, UK.
| | - Li Pan
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
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27
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Ekeledo E, Latif S, Abass A, Müller J. Antioxidant potential of extracts from peels and stems of yellow‐fleshed and white cassava varieties. Int J Food Sci Technol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/ijfs.14814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Esther Ekeledo
- Institute of Agricultural Engineering Tropics and Subtropics Group (440e) University of Hohenheim 70599Stuttgart Germany
- International Institute for Tropical Agriculture Ibadan Nigeria
- National Root Crops Research Institute Umudike Nigeria
| | - Sajid Latif
- Institute of Agricultural Engineering (440e) Faculty of Agriculture University of Hohenheim Stuttgart Germany
| | - Adebayo Abass
- International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Regional Hub for Eastern Africa Dar es Salaam Tanzania
| | - Joachim Müller
- Institute of Agricultural Engineering (440e) Faculty of Agriculture University of Hohenheim Stuttgart Germany
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28
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Mohamed AH, Balbool BA, Abdel-Azeem AM. Aspergillus from Different Habitats and Their Industrial Applications. Fungal Biol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-67561-5_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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29
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Saha P, Sarkar A, Sabnam N, Shirke MD, Mahesh HB, Nikhil A, Rajamani A, Gowda M, Roy-Barman S. Comparative analysis of secondary metabolite gene clusters in different strains of Magnaporthe oryzae. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2020; 368:6045507. [PMID: 33355334 DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnaa216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Rice blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae continues to be a major constraint in rice production worldwide. Rice is one of the staple crops in India and rice blast causes huge economic losses. Interestingly, the Indian subcontinent is the centre for origin and diversity of rice as well as the Magnaporthe species complex. Secondary metabolites are known to play important role in pathogenesis and M. oryzae has high potential of genes involved in secondary metabolism but, unfortunately most of them remain uncharacterized. In the present study, we analysed the draft genome assemblies of M. oryzae strains isolated from different parts of India, for putative secondary metabolite key gene (SMKG) clusters encoding polyketide synthases, non-ribosomal peptide synthetases, diterpene cyclases and dimethylallyl tryptophan synthase. Based on the complete genome sequence of 70-15 strain and its previous reports of identified SMKGs, we have identified the key genes for the interrogated strains. Expression analysis of these genes amongst different strains indicates how they have evolved depending on the host and environmental conditions. To our knowledge, this study is first of its kind where the secondary metabolism genes and their role in functional adaptation were studied across several strains of M. oryzae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pallabi Saha
- Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology, Mahatma Gandhi Rd, A-zone, Durgapur, West Bengal-713209, India
| | - Atrayee Sarkar
- Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology, Mahatma Gandhi Rd, A-zone, Durgapur, West Bengal-713209, India
| | - Nazmiara Sabnam
- Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology, Mahatma Gandhi Rd, A-zone, Durgapur, West Bengal-713209, India.,Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, 86/1 College street, Kolkata, West Bengal-700073, India
| | - Meghana D Shirke
- Centre for Functional Genomics and Bioinformatics, The University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology, 74/2, Post Attur via Yelahanka, Jarakabande Kaval, Bengaluru-560064, India
| | - H B Mahesh
- Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, V. C. Farm, Mandya, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru-560065, India
| | - Aman Nikhil
- Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology, Mahatma Gandhi Rd, A-zone, Durgapur, West Bengal-713209, India
| | - Anantharamanan Rajamani
- Genome Analysis Laboratory, Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam, Kerala-686009, India
| | - Malali Gowda
- Centre for Functional Genomics and Bioinformatics, The University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology, 74/2, Post Attur via Yelahanka, Jarakabande Kaval, Bengaluru-560064, India
| | - Subhankar Roy-Barman
- Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology, Mahatma Gandhi Rd, A-zone, Durgapur, West Bengal-713209, India
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30
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Khan I, Xie WL, Yu YC, Sheng H, Xu Y, Wang JQ, Debnath SC, Xu JZ, Zheng DQ, Ding WJ, Wang PM. Heteroexpression of Aspergillus nidulans laeA in Marine-Derived Fungi Triggers Upregulation of Secondary Metabolite Biosynthetic Genes. Mar Drugs 2020; 18:md18120652. [PMID: 33352941 PMCID: PMC7766385 DOI: 10.3390/md18120652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Fungi are a prospective resource of bioactive compounds, but conventional methods of drug discovery are not effective enough to fully explore their metabolic potential. This study aimed to develop an easily attainable method to elicit the metabolic potential of fungi using Aspergillus nidulans laeA as a transcription regulation tool. In this study, functional analysis of Aspergillus nidulans laeA (AnLaeA) and Aspergillus sp. Z5 laeA (Az5LaeA) was done in the fungus Aspergillus sp. Z5. Heterologous AnLaeA-and native Az5LaeA-overexpression exhibited similar phenotypic effects and caused an increase in production of a bioactive compound diorcinol in Aspergillus sp. Z5, which proved the conserved function of this global regulator. In particular, heteroexpression of AnLaeA showed a significant impact on the expression of velvet complex genes, diorcinol synthesis-related genes, and different transcription factors (TFs). Moreover, heteroexpression of AnLaeA influenced the whole genome gene expression of Aspergillus sp. Z5 and triggered the upregulation of many genes. Overall, these findings suggest that heteroexpression of AnLaeA in fungi serves as a simple and easy method to explore their metabolic potential. In relation to this, AnLaeA was overexpressed in the fungus Penicillium sp. LC1-4, which resulted in increased production of quinolactacin A.
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31
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Nord C, Levenfors JJ, Bjerketorp J, Guss B, Öberg B, Broberg A. Tetramic acid based alkaloids from Aspergillus amoenus Roberg strain UP197 - antibiotic properties and new pyranterreones. Nat Prod Res 2020; 36:967-973. [PMID: 33280415 DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2020.1855643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The fungus Aspergillus amoenus Roberg strain UP197 was shown to produce antibacterial tetramic acid based alkaloids. Two new compounds, pyranterreone I and J (1 and 2), were isolated and characterized, in addition to the known compounds cordylactam, 7-hydroxycordylactam, pyranterreone C, D, F and G. Neither the pyranterreones nor the cordylacctams had previously been tested for antimicrobial activity. Thus, all isolated compounds were tested against a panel of clinically important bacteria and fungi. Pyranterreone C was active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) between 1 and 8 µg/mL, whereas the MICs for all other compounds were >32 µg/mL. Pyranoterreone C was cytotoxic towards HepG2 cells, and since pyranterreone C reacted rapidly with the nucleophile cysteine, it is likely that the observed antibacterial activity is due to the chemical reactivity rather than enzymatic affinity, making it unsuitable for development as an antibacterial drug.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Nord
- Department of Molecular Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jolanta J Levenfors
- Department of Molecular Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.,Ultupharma AB, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Joakim Bjerketorp
- Department of Molecular Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.,Ultupharma AB, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Bengt Guss
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Bo Öberg
- Ultupharma AB, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anders Broberg
- Department of Molecular Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
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32
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Cheng M, Zhao S, Lin C, Song J, Yang Q. Requirement of LaeA for sporulation, pigmentation and secondary metabolism in Chaetomium globosum. Fungal Biol 2020; 125:305-315. [PMID: 33766309 DOI: 10.1016/j.funbio.2020.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Revised: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The global regulator LaeA has been confirmed to govern the production of secondary metabolites in fungi. Herein, we examined the role of LaeA in Chaetomium globosum. Similarly as observed in other filamentous, CgLaeA had a significant effect on the secondary metabolism. The ΔCglaeA mutant strain did not exhibit chaetoglobosin A, whereas its production was restored in the CglaeAC strain. In addition, CglaeA overexpression led to an increase in chaetoglobosin A production. Transcriptional examination of the mutants indicated that CgLaeA positively regulated the expression of pathway-specific transcription factor CgcheR, while another global regulator CgvelB was negatively regulated by CgLaeA. Furthermore, CgLaeA also affected the morphological phenotypes of fungi. The ΔCglaeA mutant strains exhibited decreased sporulation and pigmentation compared with the wild-type strain, whereas the phenotypes were restored in the CglaeAC strain. Moreover, OE::CglaeA exhibited increased levels of sporulation and pigmentation. Moreover, inhibition activity against phytopathogenic fungi affected by decreased mycotoxin production of the ΔCglaeA mutant strain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Cheng
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150000, China
| | - Shanshan Zhao
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150000, China
| | - Congyu Lin
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150000, China
| | - Jinzhu Song
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150000, China
| | - Qian Yang
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150000, China.
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Schüller A, Wolansky L, Berger H, Studt L, Gacek-Matthews A, Sulyok M, Strauss J. A novel fungal gene regulation system based on inducible VPR-dCas9 and nucleosome map-guided sgRNA positioning. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 104:9801-9822. [PMID: 33006690 PMCID: PMC7595996 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-020-10900-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Revised: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Programmable transcriptional regulation is a powerful tool to study gene functions. Current methods to selectively regulate target genes are mainly based on promoter exchange or on overexpressing transcriptional activators. To expand the discovery toolbox, we designed a dCas9-based RNA-guided synthetic transcription activation system for Aspergillus nidulans that uses enzymatically disabled "dead" Cas9 fused to three consecutive activation domains (VPR-dCas9). The dCas9-encoding gene is under the control of an estrogen-responsive promoter to allow induction timing and to avoid possible negative effects by strong constitutive expression of the highly active VPR domains. Especially in silent genomic regions, facultative heterochromatin and strictly positioned nucleosomes can constitute a relevant obstacle to the transcriptional machinery. To avoid this negative impact and to facilitate optimal positioning of RNA-guided VPR-dCas9 to targeted promoters, we have created a genome-wide nucleosome map from actively growing cells and stationary cultures to identify the cognate nucleosome-free regions (NFRs). Based on these maps, different single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs) were designed and tested for their targeting and activation potential. Our results demonstrate that the system can be used to regulate several genes in parallel and, depending on the VPR-dCas9 positioning, expression can be pushed to very high levels. We have used the system to turn on individual genes within two different biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) which are silent under normal growth conditions. This method also opens opportunities to stepwise activate individual genes in a cluster to decipher the correlated biosynthetic pathway. Graphical abstract KEYPOINTS: • An inducible RNA-guided transcriptional regulator based on VPR-dCas9 was established in Aspergillus nidulans. • Genome-wide nucleosome positioning maps were created that facilitate sgRNA positioning. • The system was successfully applied to activate genes within two silent biosynthetic gene clusters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Schüller
- Fungal Genetics Lab, Institute of Microbial Genetics, Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, BOKU-Campus Tulln, Konrad Lorenz Strasse 24, A-3430, Tulln an der Donau, Austria
| | - Lisa Wolansky
- Institute Krems Bioanalytics , IMC FH Krems University of Applied Sciences , Krems, Austria
| | - Harald Berger
- Fungal Genetics Lab, Institute of Microbial Genetics, Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, BOKU-Campus Tulln, Konrad Lorenz Strasse 24, A-3430, Tulln an der Donau, Austria
| | - Lena Studt
- Fungal Genetics Lab, Institute of Microbial Genetics, Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, BOKU-Campus Tulln, Konrad Lorenz Strasse 24, A-3430, Tulln an der Donau, Austria
| | - Agnieszka Gacek-Matthews
- Fungal Genetics Lab, Institute of Microbial Genetics, Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, BOKU-Campus Tulln, Konrad Lorenz Strasse 24, A-3430, Tulln an der Donau, Austria
- Institute of Microbiology, Functional Microbiology Division, University of Veterinary Sciences Vienna, Wien, Austria
| | - Michael Sulyok
- Institute of Bioanalytics and Agrometabolomics, Department of Agrobiotechnology, BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, BOKU-Campus Tulln, Konrad-Lorenz-Straße 20, A-3430 Tulln an der Donau, Austria
| | - Joseph Strauss
- Fungal Genetics Lab, Institute of Microbial Genetics, Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, BOKU-Campus Tulln, Konrad Lorenz Strasse 24, A-3430, Tulln an der Donau, Austria.
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Caesar LK, Kelleher NL, Keller NP. In the fungus where it happens: History and future propelling Aspergillus nidulans as the archetype of natural products research. Fungal Genet Biol 2020; 144:103477. [PMID: 33035657 DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2020.103477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
In 1990 the first fungal secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene was cloned in Aspergillus nidulans. Thirty years later, >30 biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) have been linked to specific natural products in this one fungal species. While impressive, over half of the BGCs in A. nidulans remain uncharacterized and their compounds structurally and functionally unknown. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of past advances that have enabled A. nidulans to rise to its current status as a natural product powerhouse focusing on the discovery and annotation of secondary metabolite clusters. From genome sequencing, heterologous expression, and metabolomics to CRISPR and epigenetic manipulations, we present a guided tour through the evolution of technologies developed and utilized in the last 30 years. These insights provide perspective to future efforts to fully unlock the biosynthetic potential of A. nidulans and, by extension, the potential of other filamentous fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay K Caesar
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Neil L Kelleher
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States; Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States; Proteomics Center of Excellence, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Nancy P Keller
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, WI, United States; Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
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El-Sayed AS, El-Sayed MT, Rady AM, Zein N, Enan G, Shindia A, El-Hefnawy S, Sitohy M, Sitohy B. Exploiting the Biosynthetic Potency of Taxol from Fungal Endophytes of Conifers Plants; Genome Mining and Metabolic Manipulation. Molecules 2020; 25:E3000. [PMID: 32630044 PMCID: PMC7412027 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25133000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2020] [Revised: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Endophytic fungi have been considered as a repertoire for bioactive secondary metabolites with potential application in medicine, agriculture and food industry. The biosynthetic pathways by fungal endophytes raise the argument of acquisition of these machineries of such complex metabolites from the plant host. Diterpenoids "Taxol" is the most effective anticancer drug with highest annual sale, since its discovery in 1970 from the Pacific yew tree, Taxus brevifolia. However, the lower yield of Taxol from this natural source (bark of T. brevifolia), availability and vulnerability of this plant to unpredicted fluctuation with the ecological and environmental conditions are the challenges. Endophytic fungi from Taxus spp. opened a new avenue for industrial Taxol production due to their fast growth, cost effectiveness, independence on climatic changes, feasibility of genetic manipulation. However, the anticipation of endophytic fungi for industrial Taxol production has been challenged by the loss of its productivity, due to the metabolic reprograming of cells, downregulating the expression of its encoding genes with subculturing and storage. Thus, the objectives of this review were to (1) Nominate the endophytic fungal isolates with the Taxol producing potency from Taxaceae and Podocarpaceae; (2) Emphasize the different approaches such as molecular manipulation, cultural optimization, co-cultivation for enhancing the Taxol productivities; (3) Accentuate the genome mining of the rate-limiting enzymes for rapid screening the Taxol biosynthetic machinery; (4) Triggering the silenced rate-limiting genes and transcriptional factors to activates the biosynthetic gene cluster of Taxol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashraf S.A. El-Sayed
- Enzymology and Fungal Biotechnology Lab (EFBL), Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt; (M.T.E.-S.); (G.E.); (A.S.); (S.E.-H.)
| | - Manal T. El-Sayed
- Enzymology and Fungal Biotechnology Lab (EFBL), Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt; (M.T.E.-S.); (G.E.); (A.S.); (S.E.-H.)
| | - Amgad M. Rady
- Faculty of Biotechnology, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts, Cairo 12566, Egypt;
| | - Nabila Zein
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt;
| | - Gamal Enan
- Enzymology and Fungal Biotechnology Lab (EFBL), Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt; (M.T.E.-S.); (G.E.); (A.S.); (S.E.-H.)
| | - Ahmed Shindia
- Enzymology and Fungal Biotechnology Lab (EFBL), Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt; (M.T.E.-S.); (G.E.); (A.S.); (S.E.-H.)
| | - Sara El-Hefnawy
- Enzymology and Fungal Biotechnology Lab (EFBL), Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt; (M.T.E.-S.); (G.E.); (A.S.); (S.E.-H.)
| | - Mahmoud Sitohy
- Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt;
| | - Basel Sitohy
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Infection and Immunology, Umeå University, SE-90185 Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Radiation Sciences, Oncology, Umeå University, SE-90185 Umeå, Sweden
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Xu Y, Zhou Y, Cao W, Liu H. Improved Production of Malic Acid in Aspergillus niger by Abolishing Citric Acid Accumulation and Enhancing Glycolytic Flux. ACS Synth Biol 2020; 9:1418-1425. [PMID: 32379964 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Microbial fermentation was widely explored to produce malic acid. Previously, Aspergillus niger has been successfully engineered, and a high titer of malic acid was achieved with strain S575, but it also produced a high level of byproduct citric acid. Here, the capability of A. niger in malic acid biosynthesis was further improved by eliminating the accumulation of citric acid and enhancing glycolytic flux. Characterization of variant mutants suggested that disruption of cexA, a gene encoding citric acid transporter located on cell membrane, abolished citric acid accumulation. However, cexA-deficient strain S895 showed significantly decreased malic acid production. Further analysis of S895 indicated that the transcription level of genes involved in glucose transportation and glycolytic pathway was significantly reduced, and the corresponding enzyme activity was also lower than those of S575. Individual overexpression of genes encoding glucose transporter MstC and key enzymes (hexokinase HxkA, 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase PfkA, and pyruvate kinase PkiA) involved in irreversible reactions of glycolic pathway increased malic acid production. Accordingly, genes of mstC, hxkA, pfkA, and pkiA were overexpressed altogether in S895, and the resultant strain S1149 was constructed. The titer of malic acid in fed-batch fermentation with S1149 reached 201.13 g/L. Compared with S575, the byproduct of citric acid was completely abolished in S1149, and the ratio of malic acid/glucose was increased from 1.27 to 1.64 mol/mol, the highest yield reported so far, and the fermentation period was shortened from 9 to 8 days. Thus, a strain with great industrial application potential was developed by engineering nine genes in A. niger, and a pilot fermentation technology was exploited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongxue Xu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, 300457 Tianjin, China
| | - Yutao Zhou
- MOE Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, 300457 Tianjin, China
| | - Wei Cao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, 300457 Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Engineering Research Center of Microbial Metabolism and Fermentation Process Control, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, 300457 Tianjin, China
| | - Hao Liu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, 300457 Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Engineering Research Center of Microbial Metabolism and Fermentation Process Control, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, 300457 Tianjin, China
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Bhattarai K, Bastola R, Baral B. Antibiotic drug discovery: Challenges and perspectives in the light of emerging antibiotic resistance. ADVANCES IN GENETICS 2020; 105:229-292. [PMID: 32560788 DOI: 10.1016/bs.adgen.2019.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Amid a rising threat of antimicrobial resistance in a global scenario, our huge investments and high-throughput technologies injected for rejuvenating the key therapeutic scaffolds to suppress these rising superbugs has been diminishing severely. This has grasped world-wide attention, with increased consideration being given to the discovery of new chemical entities. Research has now proven that the relatively tiny and simpler microbes possess enhanced capability of generating novel and diverse chemical constituents with huge therapeutic leads. The usage of these beneficial organisms could help in producing new chemical scaffolds that govern the power to suppress the spread of obnoxious superbugs. Here in this review, we have explicitly focused on several appealing strategies employed for the generation of new chemical scaffolds. Also, efforts on providing novel insights on some of the unresolved questions in the production of metabolites, metabolic profiling and also the serendipity of getting "hit molecules" have been rigorously discussed. However, we are highly aware that biosynthetic pathway of different classes of secondary metabolites and their biosynthetic route is a vast topic, thus we have avoided discussion on this topic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keshab Bhattarai
- University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Center for Natural and Applied Sciences (CENAS), Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Rina Bastola
- Spinal Cord Injury Association-Nepal (SCIAN), Pokhara, Nepal
| | - Bikash Baral
- Spinal Cord Injury Association-Nepal (SCIAN), Pokhara, Nepal.
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Lodens S, Roelants SLKW, Luyten G, Geys R, Coussement P, De Maeseneire SL, Soetaert W. Unraveling the regulation of sophorolipid biosynthesis in Starmerella bombicola. FEMS Yeast Res 2020; 20:5824630. [DOI: 10.1093/femsyr/foaa021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
ABSTRACTStarmerella bombicola very efficiently produces the secondary metabolites sophorolipids (SLs). Their biosynthesis is not-growth associated and highly upregulated in the stationary phase. Despite high industrial and academic interest, the underlying regulation of SL biosynthesis remains unknown. In this paper, potential regulation of SL biosynthesis through the telomere positioning effect (TPE) was investigated, as the SL gene cluster is located adjacent to a telomere. An additional copy of this gene cluster was introduced elsewhere in the genome to investigate if this results in a decoy of regulation. Indeed, for the new strain, the onset of SL production was shifted to the exponential phase. This result was confirmed by RT-qPCR analysis. The TPE effect was further investigated by developing and applying a suitable reporter system for this non-conventional yeast, enabling non-biased comparison of gene expression between the subtelomeric CYP52M1- and the URA3 locus. This was done with a constitutive endogenous promotor (pGAPD) and one of the endogenous promotors of the SL biosynthetic gene cluster (pCYP52M1). A clear positioning effect was observed for both promotors with significantly higher GFP expression levels at the URA3 locus. No clear GFP upregulation was observed in the stationary phase for any of the new strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofie Lodens
- Centre for Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis (InBio.be), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Sophie L K W Roelants
- Centre for Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis (InBio.be), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Goedele Luyten
- Centre for Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis (InBio.be), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Robin Geys
- Centre for Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis (InBio.be), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Pieter Coussement
- Centre for Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis (InBio.be), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Sofie L De Maeseneire
- Centre for Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis (InBio.be), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Wim Soetaert
- Centre for Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis (InBio.be), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
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Abstract
Fungi are rich sources of secondary metabolites of pharmaceutical importance, such as antibiotics, antitumor agents, and immunosuppressants, as well as of harmful toxins. Secondary metabolites play important roles in the development and pathogenesis of fungi. LaeA is a global regulator of secondary metabolism and was originally reported in Aspergillus nidulans; however, its role in secondary metabolism in Magnaporthe oryzae has not yet been reported. Here, we investigated the role of a gene homologous to LAEA (loss of AflR expression) of Aspergillus spp. in Magnaporthe oryzae, named M. oryzaeLAEA (MoLAEA). Studies on MoLAEA overexpression and knockdown strains have suggested that this gene acts as a negative regulator of sporulation and melanin synthesis. However, it is not involved in the growth and pathogenesis of M. oryzae Transcriptomic data indicated that MoLAEA regulated genes involved in secondary metabolism. Interestingly, we observed (for the first time, to our knowledge) that this gene is involved in benzylpenicillin (penicillin G) synthesis in M. oryzae Overexpression of MoLAEA increased penicillin G production, whereas the silenced strain showed a complete absence of penicillin G compared to its presence in the wild type. We also observed that MoLaeA interacted with MoVeA, a velvet family protein involved in fungal development and secondary metabolism, in the nucleus. This study showed that though MoLAEA may not make any contribution in rice blast fungal pathogenesis, it regulates secondary metabolism in M. oryzae and thus can be further studied for identifying other new uncharacterized metabolites in this fungus.IMPORTANCEM. oryzae causes blast disease, the most serious disease of cultivated rice affecting global rice production. The genome of M. oryzae has been shown to have a number of genes involved in secondary metabolism, but most of them are uncharacterized. In fact, compared to studies of other filamentous fungi, hardly any work has been done on secondary metabolism in M. oryzae It is shown here (for the first time, to our knowledge) that penicillin G is being synthesized in M. oryzae and that MoLAEA is involved in this process. This is the first step in understanding the penicillin G biosynthesis pathway in M. oryzae This study also unraveled the details of how MoLaeA works by forming a nuclear complex with MoVeA in M. oryzae, thus indicating functional conservation of such a gene across filamentous fungi. All these findings open up avenues for more relevant investigations on the genetic regulation of secondary metabolism in M. oryzae.
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Perlatti B, Lan N, Jiang Y, An Z, Bills G. Identification of Secondary Metabolites from Aspergillus pachycristatus by Untargeted UPLC-ESI-HRMS/MS and Genome Mining. Molecules 2020; 25:molecules25040913. [PMID: 32085602 PMCID: PMC7071103 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25040913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2020] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Aspergillus pachycristatus is an industrially important fungus for the production of the antifungal echinocandin B and is closely related to model organism A. nidulans. Its secondary metabolism is largely unknown except for the production of echinocandin B and sterigmatocystin. We constructed mutants for three genes that regulate secondary metabolism in A. pachycristatus NRRL 11440, and evaluated the secondary metabolites produced by wild type and mutants strains. The secondary metabolism was explored by metabolic networking of UPLC-HRMS/MS data. The genes and metabolites of A. pachycristatus were compared to those of A.nidulans FGSC A4 as a reference to identify compounds and link them to their encoding genes. Major differences in chromatographic profiles were observable among the mutants. At least 28 molecules were identified in crude extracts that corresponded to nine characterized gene clusters. Moreover, metabolic networking revealed the presence of a yet unexplored array of secondary metabolites, including several undescribed fellutamides derivatives. Comparative reference to its sister species, A. nidulans, was an efficient way to dereplicate known compounds, whereas metabolic networking provided information that allowed prioritization of unknown compounds for further metabolic exploration. The mutation of global regulator genes proved to be a useful tool for expanding the expression of metabolic diversity in A. pachycristatus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Perlatti
- Texas Therapeutic Institute, The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77054, USA; (N.L.); (Z.A.); (G.B.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Nan Lan
- Texas Therapeutic Institute, The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77054, USA; (N.L.); (Z.A.); (G.B.)
| | - Yongying Jiang
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77054, USA;
| | - Zhiqiang An
- Texas Therapeutic Institute, The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77054, USA; (N.L.); (Z.A.); (G.B.)
| | - Gerald Bills
- Texas Therapeutic Institute, The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77054, USA; (N.L.); (Z.A.); (G.B.)
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Vickery CR, McCulloch IP, Sonnenschein EC, Beld J, Noel JP, Burkart MD. Dissecting modular synthases through inhibition: A complementary chemical and genetic approach. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2020; 30:126820. [PMID: 31812466 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2019.126820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2019] [Revised: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 11/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Modular synthases, such as fatty acid, polyketide, and non-ribosomal peptide synthases (NRPSs), are sophisticated machineries essential in both primary and secondary metabolism. Various techniques have been developed to understand their genetic background and enzymatic abilities. However, uncovering the actual biosynthetic pathways remains challenging. Herein, we demonstrate a pipeline to study an assembly line synthase by interrogating the enzymatic function of each individual enzymatic domain of BpsA, a NRPS that produces the blue 3,3'-bipyridyl pigment indigoidine. Specific inhibitors for each biosynthetic domain of BpsA were obtained or synthesized, and the enzymatic performance of BpsA upon addition of each inhibitor was monitored by pigment development in vitro and in living bacteria. The results were verified using genetic mutants to inactivate each domain. Finally, the results complemented the currently proposed biosynthetic pathway of BpsA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher R Vickery
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0358, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Jack H. Skirball Center for Chemical Biology and Proteomics, 10010 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Ian P McCulloch
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0358, USA
| | - Eva C Sonnenschein
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0358, USA
| | - Joris Beld
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0358, USA
| | - Joseph P Noel
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Jack H. Skirball Center for Chemical Biology and Proteomics, 10010 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Michael D Burkart
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0358, USA.
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Álvarez-Escribano I, Sasse C, Bok JW, Na H, Amirebrahimi M, Lipzen A, Schackwitz W, Martin J, Barry K, Gutiérrez G, Cea-Sánchez S, Marcos AT, Grigoriev IV, Keller NP, Braus GH, Cánovas D. Genome sequencing of evolved aspergilli populations reveals robust genomes, transversions in A. flavus, and sexual aberrancy in non-homologous end-joining mutants. BMC Biol 2019; 17:88. [PMID: 31711484 PMCID: PMC6844060 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-019-0702-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 09/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Aspergillus spp. comprises a very diverse group of lower eukaryotes with a high relevance for industrial applications and clinical implications. These multinucleate species are often cultured for many generations in the laboratory, which can unknowingly propagate hidden genetic mutations. To assess the likelihood of such events, we studied the genome stability of aspergilli by using a combination of mutation accumulation (MA) lines and whole genome sequencing. Results We sequenced the whole genomes of 30 asexual and 10 sexual MA lines of three Aspergillus species (A. flavus, A. fumigatus and A. nidulans) and estimated that each MA line accumulated mutations for over 4000 mitoses during asexual cycles. We estimated mutation rates of 4.2 × 10−11 (A. flavus), 1.1 × 10−11 (A. fumigatus) and 4.1 × 10−11 (A. nidulans) per site per mitosis, suggesting that the genomes are very robust. Unexpectedly, we found a very high rate of GC → TA transversions only in A. flavus. In parallel, 30 asexual lines of the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) mutants of the three species were also allowed to accumulate mutations for the same number of mitoses. Sequencing of these NHEJ MA lines gave an estimated mutation rate of 5.1 × 10−11 (A. flavus), 2.2 × 10−11 (A. fumigatus) and 4.5 × 10−11 (A. nidulans) per base per mitosis, which is slightly higher than in the wild-type strains and some ~ 5–6 times lower than in the yeasts. Additionally, in A. nidulans, we found a NHEJ-dependent interference of the sexual cycle that is independent of the accumulation of mutations. Conclusions We present for the first time direct counts of the mutation rate of filamentous fungal species and find that Aspergillus genomes are very robust. Deletion of the NHEJ machinery results in a slight increase in the mutation rate, but at a rate we suggest is still safe to use for biotechnology purposes. Unexpectedly, we found GC→TA transversions predominated only in the species A. flavus, which could be generated by the hepatocarcinogen secondary metabolite aflatoxin. Lastly, a strong effect of the NHEJ mutation in self-crossing was observed and an increase in the mutations of the asexual lines was quantified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isidro Álvarez-Escribano
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain.,Present Address: Instituto de Bioquímica Vegetal y Fotosíntesis, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas y Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | - Christoph Sasse
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jin Woo Bok
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Hyunsoo Na
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
| | | | - Anna Lipzen
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
| | - Wendy Schackwitz
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
| | - Joel Martin
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
| | - Kerrie Barry
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
| | - Gabriel Gutiérrez
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
| | - Sara Cea-Sánchez
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
| | - Ana T Marcos
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain.,Present Address: Instituto para el Estudio de la Reproducción Humana (Inebir), Avda de la Cruz Roja 1, 41009, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Igor V Grigoriev
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, USA.,Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Nancy P Keller
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Gerhard H Braus
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - David Cánovas
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain.
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43
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Zhu C, Wang Y, Hu X, Lei M, Wang M, Zeng J, Li H, Liu Z, Zhou T, Yu D. Involvement of LaeA in the regulation of conidia production and stress responses in Penicillium digitatum. J Basic Microbiol 2019; 60:82-88. [PMID: 31650621 DOI: 10.1002/jobm.201900367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Revised: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Involvement of LaeA in various biological processes of filamentous fungi has been demonstrated. However, its role in Penicillium digitatum, the causal agent of citrus postharvest green mold, remains unclear. In this study, a ΔPdLaeA mutant was constructed using homologous recombination. The production of conidia by the ΔPdLaeA mutant was reduced by half compared with that of the wild-type strain. The sensitivity of the ΔPdLaeA mutant increased under alkaline conditions. The virulence assay revealed that PdLaeA was dispensable for the virulence of P. digitatum. Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that the function loss of PdLaeA resulted in the reduced expression of several secondary metabolite gene clusters. In addition, expression of several key regulators of conidiation (BrlA, FlbA, FlbC, FlbD, and FluG) was also downregulated in the ΔPdLaeA mutant. In summary, the present work demonstrated that PdLaeA was involved in the regulation of SM biosynthesis, as well as the development and environmental adaptation of P. digitatum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Congyi Zhu
- Key Laboratory of South Subtropical Fruit Biology and Genetic Resource Utilization (MOA), Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Fruit Tree Research, Institute of Fruit Tree Research, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuying Wang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xu Hu
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Mengying Lei
- Department of Ecological Engineering, Guangdong Eco-Engineering Polytechnic, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mingshuang Wang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiwu Zeng
- Key Laboratory of South Subtropical Fruit Biology and Genetic Resource Utilization (MOA), Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Fruit Tree Research, Institute of Fruit Tree Research, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hongye Li
- Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zheyu Liu
- Key Laboratory of South Subtropical Fruit Biology and Genetic Resource Utilization (MOA), Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Fruit Tree Research, Institute of Fruit Tree Research, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ting Zhou
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Dongliang Yu
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
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44
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Zhang X, Hindra, Elliot MA. Unlocking the trove of metabolic treasures: activating silent biosynthetic gene clusters in bacteria and fungi. Curr Opin Microbiol 2019; 51:9-15. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2019.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2018] [Revised: 01/22/2019] [Accepted: 03/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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45
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Kjærbølling I, Mortensen UH, Vesth T, Andersen MR. Strategies to establish the link between biosynthetic gene clusters and secondary metabolites. Fungal Genet Biol 2019; 130:107-121. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2019.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2018] [Revised: 05/26/2019] [Accepted: 06/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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46
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Hautbergue T, Jamin EL, Debrauwer L, Puel O, Oswald IP. From genomics to metabolomics, moving toward an integrated strategy for the discovery of fungal secondary metabolites. Nat Prod Rep 2019; 35:147-173. [PMID: 29384544 DOI: 10.1039/c7np00032d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Fungal secondary metabolites are defined by bioactive properties that ensure adaptation of the fungus to its environment. Although some of these natural products are promising sources of new lead compounds especially for the pharmaceutical industry, others pose risks to human and animal health. The identification of secondary metabolites is critical to assessing both the utility and risks of these compounds. Since fungi present biological specificities different from other microorganisms, this review covers the different strategies specifically used in fungal studies to perform this critical identification. Strategies focused on the direct detection of the secondary metabolites are firstly reported. Particularly, advances in high-throughput untargeted metabolomics have led to the generation of large datasets whose exploitation and interpretation generally require bioinformatics tools. Then, the genome-based methods used to study the entire fungal metabolic potential are reported. Transcriptomic and proteomic tools used in the discovery of fungal secondary metabolites are presented as links between genomic methods and metabolomic experiments. Finally, the influence of the culture environment on the synthesis of secondary metabolites by fungi is highlighted as a major factor to consider in research on fungal secondary metabolites. Through this review, we seek to emphasize that the discovery of natural products should integrate all of these valuable tools. Attention is also drawn to emerging technologies that will certainly revolutionize fungal research and to the use of computational tools that are necessary but whose results should be interpreted carefully.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Hautbergue
- Toxalim (Research Centre in Food Toxicology) Université de Toulouse, INRA, ENVT, INP-Purpan, UPS, F-31027 Toulouse, France.
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47
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Grau MF, Entwistle R, Oakley CE, Wang CCC, Oakley BR. Overexpression of an LaeA-like Methyltransferase Upregulates Secondary Metabolite Production in Aspergillus nidulans. ACS Chem Biol 2019; 14:1643-1651. [PMID: 31265232 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.9b00380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Fungal secondary metabolites (SMs) include medically valuable compounds as well as compounds that are toxic, carcinogenic, and/or contributors to fungal pathogenesis. It is consequently important to understand the regulation of fungal secondary metabolism. McrA is a recently discovered transcription factor that negatively regulates fungal secondary metabolism. Deletion of mcrA (mcrAΔ), the gene encoding McrA, results in upregulation of many SMs and alters the expression of more than 1000 genes. One gene strongly upregulated by the deletion of mcrA is llmG, a putative methyl transferase related to LaeA, a major regulator of secondary metabolism. We artificially upregulated llmG by replacing its promoter with strong constitutive promoters in strains carrying either wild-type mcrA or mcrAΔ. Upregulation of llmG on various media resulted in increased production of the important toxin sterigmatocystin and compounds from at least six major SM pathways. llmG is, thus, a master SM regulator. mcrAΔ generally resulted in greater upregulation of SMs than upregulation of llmG, indicating that the full effects of mcrA on secondary metabolism involve genes in addition to llmG. However, the combination of mcrAΔ and upregulation of llmG generally resulted in greater compound production than mcrAΔ alone (in one case more than 460 times greater than the control). This result indicates that deletion of mcrA and/or upregulation of llmG can likely be combined with other strategies for eliciting SM production to greater levels than can be obtained with any single strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle F. Grau
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Ruth Entwistle
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
| | - C. Elizabeth Oakley
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
| | - Clay C. C. Wang
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Berl R. Oakley
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
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48
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Romsdahl J, Wang CCC. Recent advances in the genome mining of Aspergillus secondary metabolites (covering 2012-2018). MEDCHEMCOMM 2019; 10:840-866. [PMID: 31303983 PMCID: PMC6590338 DOI: 10.1039/c9md00054b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 04/11/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Secondary metabolites (SMs) produced by filamentous fungi possess diverse bioactivities that make them excellent drug candidates. Whole genome sequencing has revealed that fungi have the capacity to produce a far greater number of SMs than have been isolated, since many of the genes involved in SM biosynthesis are either silent or expressed at very low levels in standard laboratory conditions. There has been significant effort to activate SM biosynthetic genes and link them to their downstream products, as the SMs produced by these "cryptic" pathways offer a promising source for new drug discovery. Further, an understanding of the genes involved in SM biosynthesis facilitates product yield optimization of first-generation molecules and genetic engineering of second-generation analogs. This review covers advances made in genome mining SMs produced by Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, and Aspergillus terreus in the past six years (2012-2018). Genetic identification and molecular characterization of SM biosynthetic gene clusters, along with proposed biosynthetic pathways, will be discussed in depth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jillian Romsdahl
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences , School of Pharmacy , University of Southern California , 1985 Zonal Avenue , Los Angeles , CA 90089 , USA . ; Tel: (323) 442 1670
| | - Clay C C Wang
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences , School of Pharmacy , University of Southern California , 1985 Zonal Avenue , Los Angeles , CA 90089 , USA . ; Tel: (323) 442 1670
- Department of Chemistry , Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences , University of Southern California , 3551 Trousdale Pkwy , Los Angeles , CA 90089 , USA
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49
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Qi H, Ma Z, Xue ZL, Yu Z, Xu QY, Zhang H, Yu XP, Wang JD. A new O-cinnamoyl threonine derivative from gene adpA overexpression strain Streptomyces sp. HS-NF-1222A. Nat Prod Res 2019; 34:2080-2085. [PMID: 30822138 DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2019.1573234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
A new O-cinnamoyl threonine derivative, O-(2-(3-methyloxiranyl) cinnamoyl) threonine (1), was isolated from the gene adpA overexpression strain Streptomyces sp. HS-NF-1222A. The structure of 1 was determined based on HRESIMS and extensive NMR analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huan Qi
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Antifungal Drugs, Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Taizhou, China
| | - Zheng Ma
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zheng-Lian Xue
- College of Biochemical Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, China
| | - Zhen Yu
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Antifungal Drugs, Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Taizhou, China
| | - Qing-Yu Xu
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Antifungal Drugs, Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Taizhou, China
| | - Hui Zhang
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Antifungal Drugs, Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Taizhou, China
| | - Xiao-Ping Yu
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ji-Dong Wang
- College of Biochemical Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, China.,Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Antifungal Drugs, Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Taizhou, China
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50
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Masuya T, Tsunematsu Y, Hirayama Y, Sato M, Noguchi H, Nakazawa T, Watanabe K. Biosynthesis of lagopodins in mushroom involves a complex network of oxidation reactions. Org Biomol Chem 2019; 17:234-239. [DOI: 10.1039/c8ob02814a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Targeted gene knockout in Coprinopsis cinerea, yeast in vivo bioconversion and in vitro assays elucidated the lagopodin biosynthetic pathway, including a complexity-generating network of oxidation steps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takahiro Masuya
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- University of Shizuoka
- Shizuoka 422-8526
- Japan
| | - Yuta Tsunematsu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- University of Shizuoka
- Shizuoka 422-8526
- Japan
| | - Yuichiro Hirayama
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- University of Shizuoka
- Shizuoka 422-8526
- Japan
| | - Michio Sato
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- University of Shizuoka
- Shizuoka 422-8526
- Japan
| | - Hiroshi Noguchi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- University of Shizuoka
- Shizuoka 422-8526
- Japan
- Nihon Pharmaceutical University
| | | | - Kenji Watanabe
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- University of Shizuoka
- Shizuoka 422-8526
- Japan
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