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Dutta A, Sharma P, Dass D, Yarlagadda V. Exploring the Darobactin Class of Antibiotics: A Comprehensive Review from Discovery to Recent Advancements. ACS Infect Dis 2024; 10:2584-2599. [PMID: 39028949 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.4c00412] [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] [Indexed: 07/21/2024]
Abstract
The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in Gram-negative bacteria poses a greater challenge due to their intrinsic resistance to many antibiotics. Recently, darobactins have emerged as a novel class of antibiotics originating from previously unexplored Gram-negative bacterial species such as Photorhabdus, Vibrio, Pseudoalteromonas and Yersinia. Darobactins belong to the ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) class of antibiotics, exhibiting selective activity against Gram-negative bacteria. They target the β-barrel assembly machinery (BAM), which is crucial for the maturation and insertion of outer membrane proteins in Gram-negative bacteria. The dar operon in the producer's genome encodes for the synthesis of darobactins, which are characterized by a fused ring system connected via an alkyl-aryl ether linkage (C-O-C) and a C-C cross-link. The enzyme DarE, using the radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine (rSAM), facilitates the formation of these bonds. Biosynthetic manipulation of the darobactin gene cluster, along with its expression in a surrogate host, has enabled access to diverse darobactin analogues with variable antibiotic activities. Recently, two independent research groups successfully achieved the total synthesis of darobactin, employing Larock heteroannulation to construct the bicyclic structure. This paper presents a comprehensive review of darobactins, encompassing their discovery through to the most recent advancements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akash Dutta
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India
| | - Peehu Sharma
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India
| | - Dharam Dass
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India
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2
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Gupta P, Meher MK, Tripathi S, Poluri KM. Nanoformulations for dismantling fungal biofilms: The latest arsenals of antifungal therapy. Mol Aspects Med 2024; 98:101290. [PMID: 38945048 DOI: 10.1016/j.mam.2024.101290] [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: 08/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Globally, fungal infections have evolved as a strenuous challenge for clinicians, particularly in patients with compromised immunity in intensive care units. Fungal co-infection in Covid-19 patients has made the situation more formidable for healthcare practitioners. Surface adhered fungal population known as biofilm often develop at the diseased site to elicit antifungal tolerance and recalcitrant traits. Thus, an innovative strategy is required to impede/eradicate developed biofilm and avoid the formation of new colonies. The development of nanocomposite-based antibiofilm solutions is the most appropriate way to withstand and dismantle biofilm structures. Nanocomposites can be utilized as a drug delivery medium and for fabrication of anti-biofilm surfaces capable to resist fungal colonization. In this context, the present review comprehensively described different forms of nanocomposites and mode of their action against fungal biofilms. Amongst various nanocomposites, efficacy of metal/organic nanoparticles and nanofibers are particularly emphasized to highlight their role in the pursuit of antibiofilm strategies. Further, the inevitable concern of nanotoxicology has also been introduced and discussed with the exigent need of addressing it while developing nano-based therapies. Further, a list of FDA-approved nano-based antifungal formulations for therapeutic usage available to date has been described. Collectively, the review highlights the potential, scope, and future of nanocomposite-based antibiofilm therapeutics to address the fungal biofilm management issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Payal Gupta
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, 247667, Uttarakhand, India; Department of Biotechnology, Graphic Era (Demmed to be Unievrsity), Dehradun, 248001, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Mukesh Kumar Meher
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, 247667, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Shweta Tripathi
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, 247667, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Krishna Mohan Poluri
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, 247667, Uttarakhand, India; Centre for Nanotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, 247667, Uttarakhand, India.
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3
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Xiang C, Yao S, Wang R, Zhang L. Bioinformatic prediction of the stereoselectivity of modular polyketide synthase: an update of the sequence motifs in ketoreductase domain. Beilstein J Org Chem 2024; 20:1476-1485. [PMID: 38978744 PMCID: PMC11228615 DOI: 10.3762/bjoc.20.131] [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: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Polyketides are a major class of natural products, including bioactive medicines such as erythromycin and rapamycin. They are often rich in stereocenters biosynthesized by the ketoreductase (KR) domain within the polyketide synthase (PKS) assembly line. Previous studies have identified conserved motifs in KR sequences that enable the bioinformatic prediction of product stereochemistry. However, the reliability and applicability of these prediction methods have not been thoroughly assessed. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive bioinformatic analysis of 1,762 KR sequences from cis-AT PKSs to reevaluate the residues involved in conferring stereoselectivity. Our findings indicate that the previously identified fingerprint motifs remain valid for KRs in β-modules from actinobacteria, but their reliability diminishes for KRs from other module types or taxonomic origins. Additionally, we have identified several new motifs that exhibit a strong correlation with the stereochemical outcomes of KRs. These updated fingerprint motifs for stereochemical prediction not only enhance our understanding of the enzymatic mechanisms governing stereocontrol but also facilitate accurate stereochemical prediction and genome mining of polyketides derived from modular cis-AT PKSs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changjun Xiang
- Department of Chemistry, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
- Key Laboratory of Precise Synthesis of Functional Molecules of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, School of Science and Research Center for Industries of the Future, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, China
| | - Shunyu Yao
- Key Laboratory of Precise Synthesis of Functional Molecules of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, School of Science and Research Center for Industries of the Future, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, China
| | - Ruoyu Wang
- Key Laboratory of Precise Synthesis of Functional Molecules of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, School of Science and Research Center for Industries of the Future, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, China
| | - Lihan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Precise Synthesis of Functional Molecules of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, School of Science and Research Center for Industries of the Future, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, China
- Institute of Natural Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou 310024, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310030, China
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McCullough TM, Choudhary V, Akey DL, Skiba MA, Bernard SM, Kittendorf JD, Schmidt JJ, Sherman DH, Smith JL. Substrate Trapping in Polyketide Synthase Thioesterase Domains: Structural Basis for Macrolactone Formation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.20.599880. [PMID: 38948807 PMCID: PMC11213023 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.20.599880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Emerging antibiotic resistance requires continual improvement in the arsenal of antimicrobial drugs, especially the critical macrolide antibiotics. Formation of the macrolactone scaffold of these polyketide natural products is catalyzed by a modular polyketide synthase (PKS) thioesterase (TE). The TE accepts a linear polyketide substrate from the termina PKS acyl carrier protein to generate an acyl-enzyme adduct that is resolved by attack of a substrate hydroxyl group to form the macrolactone. Our limited mechanistic understanding of TE selectivity for a substrate nucleophile and/or water has hampered development of TEs as biocatalysts that accommodate a variety of natural and non-natural substrates. To understand how TEs direct the substrate nucleophile for macrolactone formation, acyl-enzyme intermediates were trapped as stable amides by substituting the natural serine OH with an amino group. Incorporation of the unnatural amino acid, 1,3-diaminopropionic acid (DAP), was tested with five PKS TEs. DAP-modified TEs (TE DAP ) from the pikromycin and erythromycin pathways were purified and tested with six full-length polyketide intermediates from three pathways. The erythromycin TE had permissive substrate selectivity, whereas the pikromycin TE was selective for its native hexaketide and heptaketide substrates. In a crystal structure of a native substrate trapped in pikromycin TE DAP , the linear heptaketide was curled in the active site with the nucleophilic hydroxyl group positioned 4 Å from the amide-enzyme linkage. The curled heptaketide displayed remarkable shape complementarity with the TE acyl cavity. The strikingly different shapes of acyl cavities in TEs of known structure, including those reported here for juvenimicin, tylosin and fluvirucin biosynthesis, provide new insights to facilitate TE engineering and optimization.
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Oyuntsetseg B, Lee HB, Kim SB. Amycolatopsis mongoliensis sp. nov., a novel actinobacterium with antifungal activity isolated from a coal mining site in Mongolia. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2024; 74. [PMID: 38359091 DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.006266] [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] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
A novel filamentous actinobacterium designated strain 4-36T showing broad-spectrum antifungal activity was isolated from a coal mining site in Mongolia, and its taxonomic position was determined using polyphasic approach. Optimum growth occurred at 30 °C, pH 7.5 and in the absence of NaCl. Aerial and substrate mycelia were abundantly formed on agar media. The colour of aerial mycelium was white and diffusible pigments were not formed. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strain 4-36T formed a distinct clade within the genus Amycolatopsis. The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity showed that the strain was mostly related to Amycolatopsis lexingtonensis DSM 44544T and Amycolatopsis rifamycinica DSM 46095T with 99.3 % sequence similarity. However, the highest digital DNA-DNA hybridization value to closest species was 44.1 %, and the highest average nucleotide identity value was 90.2 %, both of which were well below the species delineation thresholds. Chemotaxonomic properties were typical of the genus Amycolatopsis, as the major fatty acids were C15 : 0, iso-C16 : 0 and C16 : 0, the cell-wall diamino acid was meso-diaminopimelic acid, the quinone was MK-9(H4), and the main polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylmethanolamine and phosphatidylethanolamine. The in silico prediction of chemotaxonomic markers was also carried out by phylogenetic analysis. The genome mining for biosynthetic gene clusters of secondary metabolites in strain 4-36T revealed the presence of 34 gene clusters involved in the production of polyketide synthase, nonribosomal peptide synthetase, ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide, lanthipeptide, terpenes, siderophore and many other unknown clusters. Strain 4-36T showed broad antifungal activity against several filamentous fungi. The phenotypic, biochemical and chemotaxonomic properties indicated that the strain could be clearly distinguished from other species of Amycolatopsis, and thus the name Amycolatopsis mongoliensis sp. nov. is proposed accordingly (type strain, 4-36T=KCTC 39526T=JCM 30565T).
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Affiliation(s)
- Bilguun Oyuntsetseg
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyang Burm Lee
- Department of Agricultural Biological Chemistry, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung Bum Kim
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
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Vishwakarma M, Haider T, Soni V. Update on fungal lipid biosynthesis inhibitors as antifungal agents. Microbiol Res 2024; 278:127517. [PMID: 37863019 DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2023.127517] [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: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023]
Abstract
Fungal diseases today represent a world-wide problem. Poor hygiene and decreased immunity are the main reasons behind the manifestation of this disease. After COVID-19, an increase in the rate of fungal infection has been observed in different countries. Different classes of antifungal agents, such as polyenes, azoles, echinocandins, and anti-metabolites, as well as their combinations, are currently employed to treat fungal diseases; these drugs are effective but can cause some side effects and toxicities. Therefore, the identification and development of newer antifungal agents is a current need. The fungal cell comprises many lipids, such as ergosterol, phospholipids, and sphingolipids. Ergosterol is a sterol lipid that is only found in fungal cells. Various pathways synthesize all these lipids, and the activities of multiple enzymes govern these pathways. Inhibiting these enzymes will ultimately impede the lipid synthesis pathway, and this phenomenon could be a potential antifungal therapy. This review will discuss various lipid synthesis pathways and multiple antifungal agents identified as having fungal lipid synthesis inhibition activity. This review will identify novel compounds that can inhibit fungal lipid synthesis, permitting researchers to direct further deep pharmacological investigation and help develop drug delivery systems for such compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Vishwakarma
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar, M.P., India
| | - Tanweer Haider
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar, M.P., India; Amity Institute of Pharmacy, Amity University, Gwalior, M.P., India
| | - Vandana Soni
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar, M.P., India.
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7
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Sousa NSOD, Almeida JDRD, Frickmann H, Lacerda MVG, Souza JVBD. Searching for new antifungals for the treatment of cryptococcosis. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop 2023; 56:e01212023. [PMID: 37493736 PMCID: PMC10367226 DOI: 10.1590/0037-8682-0121-2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023] Open
Abstract
There is a consensus that the antifungal repertoire for the treatment of cryptococcal infections is limited. Standard treatment involves the administration of an antifungal drug derived from natural sources (i.e., amphotericin B) and two other drugs developed synthetically (i.e., flucytosine and fluconazole). Despite treatment, the mortality rates associated with fungal cryptococcosis are high. Amphotericin B and flucytosine are toxic, require intravenous administration, and are usually unavailable in low-income countries because of their high cost. However, fluconazole is cost-effective, widely available, and harmless with regard to its side effects. However, fluconazole is a fungistatic agent that has contributed considerably to the increase in fungal resistance and frequent relapses in patients with cryptococcal meningitis. Therefore, there is an unquestionable need to identify new alternatives or adjuvants to conventional drugs for the treatment of cryptococcosis. A potential antifungal agent should be able to kill cryptococci and "bypass" the virulence mechanism of the yeast. Furthermore, it should have fungicidal action, low toxicity, high selectivity, easily penetrate the central nervous system, and widely available. In this review, we describe cryptococcosis, its conventional therapy, and failures arising from the use of drugs traditionally considered to be the reference standard. Additionally, we present the approaches used for the discovery of new drugs to counteract cryptococcosis, ranging from the conventional screening of natural products to the inclusion of structural modifications to optimize anticryptococcal activity, as well as drug repositioning and combined therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Hagen Frickmann
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Medicine Rostock, Germany
- Department of Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, Bundeswehr Hospital Hamburg, Germany
| | - Marcus Vinícius Guimarães Lacerda
- Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado, Manaus, AM, Brasil
- Instituto de Pesquisas Leônidas & Maria Deane, Fiocruz, Manaus, AM, Brasil
- University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, USA
| | - João Vicente Braga de Souza
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia da Rede BIONORTE, Manaus, AM, Brasil
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, AM, Brasil
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8
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Cook MA, Pallant D, Ejim L, Sutherland AD, Wang X, Johnson JW, McCusker S, Chen X, George M, Chou S, Koteva K, Wang W, Hobson C, Hackenberger D, Waglechner N, Ejim O, Campbell T, Medina R, MacNeil LT, Wright GD. Lessons from assembling a microbial natural product and pre-fractionated extract library in an academic laboratory. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2023; 50:kuad042. [PMID: 38052426 PMCID: PMC10724011 DOI: 10.1093/jimb/kuad042] [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: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
Microbial natural products are specialized metabolites that are sources of many bioactive compounds including antibiotics, antifungals, antiparasitics, anticancer agents, and probes of biology. The assembly of libraries of producers of natural products has traditionally been the province of the pharmaceutical industry. This sector has gathered significant historical collections of bacteria and fungi to identify new drug leads with outstanding outcomes-upwards of 60% of drug scaffolds originate from such libraries. Despite this success, the repeated rediscovery of known compounds and the resultant diminishing chemical novelty contributed to a pivot from this source of bioactive compounds toward more tractable synthetic compounds in the drug industry. The advent of advanced mass spectrometry tools, along with rapid whole genome sequencing and in silico identification of biosynthetic gene clusters that encode the machinery necessary for the synthesis of specialized metabolites, offers the opportunity to revisit microbial natural product libraries with renewed vigor. Assembling a suitable library of microbes and extracts for screening requires the investment of resources and the development of methods that have customarily been the proprietary purview of large pharmaceutical companies. Here, we report a perspective on our efforts to assemble a library of natural product-producing microbes and the establishment of methods to extract and fractionate bioactive compounds using resources available to most academic labs. We validate the library and approach through a series of screens for antimicrobial and cytotoxic agents. This work serves as a blueprint for establishing libraries of microbial natural product producers and bioactive extract fractions suitable for screens of bioactive compounds. ONE-SENTENCE SUMMARY Natural products are key to discovery of novel antimicrobial agents: Here, we describe our experience and lessons learned in constructing a microbial natural product and pre-fractionated extract library.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Cook
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Daniel Pallant
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Linda Ejim
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Arlene D Sutherland
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Xiaodong Wang
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Jarrod W Johnson
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Susan McCusker
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Xuefei Chen
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Maya George
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Sommer Chou
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
- Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada
| | - Kalinka Koteva
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Wenliang Wang
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Christian Hobson
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Dirk Hackenberger
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Nicholas Waglechner
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Obi Ejim
- College of Medicine, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Agbani, Enugu State, PMB 01660, Nigeria
| | - Tracey Campbell
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Ricardo Medina
- Department of Microbiology, Chemical Bioactive Center, Central University Marta Abreu de las Villas, Santa Clara 54830, Villa Clara, Cuba
| | - Lesley T MacNeil
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
- Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada
| | - Gerard D Wright
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
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9
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El-Hawary SS, Hassan MHA, Hudhud AO, Abdelmohsen UR, Mohammed R. Elicitation for activation of the actinomycete genome's cryptic secondary metabolite gene clusters. RSC Adv 2023; 13:5778-5795. [PMID: 36816076 PMCID: PMC9932869 DOI: 10.1039/d2ra08222e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
This review summarizes the recent advances in the elicitation approaches used to activate the actinomycete genome's cryptic secondary metabolite gene clusters and shows the diversity of natural products obtained by various elicitation methods up to June 2022, such as co-cultivation of actinomycetes with actinomycetes, other non-actinomycete bacteria, fungi, cell-derived components, and/or algae. Chemical elicitation and molecular elicitation as transcription factor decoys, engineering regulatory genes, the promoter replacement strategy, global regulatory genes, and reporter-guided mutant selection were also reported. For researchers interested in this field, this review serves as a valuable resource for the latest studies and references.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seham S El-Hawary
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University Cairo Egypt
| | - Marwa H A Hassan
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beni-Suef University Beni-Suef 62511 Egypt
| | - Ahmed O Hudhud
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Merit University Sohag 82511 Egypt
| | - Usama Ramadan Abdelmohsen
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Minia University Minia 61519 Egypt
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Deraya University New Minia 61111 Egypt
| | - Rabab Mohammed
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beni-Suef University Beni-Suef 62511 Egypt
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10
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The Potential Use of Fungal Co-Culture Strategy for Discovery of New Secondary Metabolites. Microorganisms 2023; 11:microorganisms11020464. [PMID: 36838429 PMCID: PMC9965835 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11020464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Fungi are an important and prolific source of secondary metabolites (SMs) with diverse chemical structures and a wide array of biological properties. In the past two decades, however, the number of new fungal SMs by traditional monoculture method had been greatly decreasing. Fortunately, a growing number of studies have shown that co-culture strategy is an effective approach to awakening silent SM biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in fungal strains to produce cryptic SMs. To enrich our knowledge of this approach and better exploit fungal biosynthetic potential for new drug discovery, this review comprehensively summarizes all fungal co-culture methods and their derived new SMs as well as bioactivities on the basis of an extensive literature search and data analysis. Future perspective on fungal co-culture study, as well as its interaction mechanism, is supplied.
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11
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Robbins N, Cowen LE. Antifungal discovery. Curr Opin Microbiol 2022; 69:102198. [PMID: 36037637 PMCID: PMC10726697 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2022.102198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Fungi have a profound impact on human health, leading to billions of infections and millions of deaths worldwide each year. Exacerbating the public health burden is the continued emergence of drug-resistant fungal pathogens coupled with a dearth of treatment options to combat serious infections. Despite this health threat, scientific advances in chemistry, genetics, and biochemistry methodologies have enabled novel antifungal compounds to be discovered. Here, we describe current approaches for the discovery and characterization of novel antifungals, focusing on the identification of novel chemical matter and elucidation of the cellular target of bioactive compounds, followed by a review of the most promising emerging therapies in the antifungal-development pipeline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Robbins
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Leah E Cowen
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada.
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12
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Qian W, Li X, Liu Q, Lu J, Wang T, Zhang Q. Antifungal and Antibiofilm Efficacy of Paeonol Treatment Against Biofilms Comprising Candida albicans and/or Cryptococcus neoformans. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:884793. [PMID: 35669114 PMCID: PMC9163411 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.884793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Fungal populations are commonly found in natural environments and present enormous health care challenges, due to increased resistance to antifungal agents. Paeonol exhibits antifungal activities; nevertheless, the antifungal and antibiofilm activities of paeonol against Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans remain largely unexplored. Here, we aimed to evaluate the antifungal and antibiofilm activities of paeonol against C. albicans and/or C. neoformans (i.e., against mono- or dual-species). The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of paeonol for mono-species comprising C. albicans or C. neoformans were 250 μg ml−1, whereas the MIC values of paeonol for dual-species were 500 μg ml−1. Paeonol disrupted cell membrane integrity and increased the influx of gatifloxacin into cells of mono- and dual-species cells, indicating an antifungal mode of action. Moreover, paeonol at 8 times the MIC damaged mono- and dual-species cells within C. albicans and C. neoformans biofilms, as it did planktonic cells. In particular, at 4 and 8 mg ml−1, paeonol efficiently dispersed preformed 48-h biofilms formed by mono- and dual-species cells, respectively. Paeonol inhibited effectively the yeast-to-hyphal-form transition of C. albicans and impaired capsule and melanin production of C. neoformans. The addition of 10 MIC paeonol to the medium did not shorten the lifespan of C. elegans, and 2 MIC paeonol could effectively protect the growth of C. albicans and C. neoformans-infected C. elegans. Furthermore, RNA sequencing was employed to examine the transcript profiling of C. albicans and C. neoformans biofilm cells in response to 1/2 MIC paeonol. RNA sequencing data revealed that paeonol treatment impaired biofilm formation of C. albicans by presumably downregulating the expression level of initial filamentation, adhesion, and growth-related genes, as well as biofilm biosynthesis genes, whereas paeonol inhibited biofilm formation of C. neoformans by presumably upregulating the expression level of ergosterol biosynthesis-related genes. Together, the findings of this study indicate that paeonol can be explored as a candidate antifungal agent for combating serious single and mixed infections caused by C. albicans and C. neoformans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weidong Qian
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi’an, China
| | - Xinchen Li
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi’an, China
| | - Qiming Liu
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi’an, China
| | - Jiaxing Lu
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi’an, China
| | - Ting Wang
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi’an, China
- *Correspondence: Ting Wang, ; Qian Zhang,
| | - Qian Zhang
- Department of Dermatology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- *Correspondence: Ting Wang, ; Qian Zhang,
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13
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Wang G, Ran H, Fan J, Keller NP, Liu Z, Wu F, Yin WB. Fungal-fungal cocultivation leads to widespread secondary metabolite alteration requiring the partial loss-of-function VeA1 protein. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabo6094. [PMID: 35476435 PMCID: PMC9045611 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo6094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Microbial communication has attracted notable attention as an indicator of microbial interactions that lead to marked alterations of secondary metabolites (SMs) in varied environments. However, the mechanisms responsible for SM regulation are not fully understood, especially in fungal-fungal interactions. Here, cocultivation of an endophytic fungus Epicoccum dendrobii with the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans and several other filamentous fungi triggered widespread alteration of SMs. Multiple silent biosynthetic gene clusters in A. nidulans were activated by transcriptome and metabolome analysis. Unprecedentedly, gene deletion and replacement proved that a partial loss-of-function VeA1 protein, but not VeA, was associated with the widespread SM changes in both A. nidulans and A. fumigatus during cocultivation. VeA1 regulation required the transcription factor SclB and the velvet complex members LaeA and VelB for producing aspernidines as representative formation of SMs in A. nidulans. This study provides new insights into the mechanism that trigger metabolic changes during fungal-fungal interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China
| | - Huomiao Ran
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China
| | - Jie Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China
| | - Nancy P. Keller
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Zhiguo Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China
| | - Fan Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China
| | - Wen-Bing Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China
- Savaid Medical School, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China
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14
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Sun Y, Shi X, Xing Y, Ren XX, Zhang DY, Li X, Xiu ZL, Dong YS. Co-culture of Aspergillus sydowii and Bacillus subtilis induces the production of antibacterial metabolites. Fungal Biol 2022; 126:320-332. [DOI: 10.1016/j.funbio.2022.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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15
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Vela Gurovic MS, Díaz ML, Gallo CA, Dietrich J. Phylogenomics, CAZyome and core secondary metabolome of Streptomyces albus species. Mol Genet Genomics 2021; 296:1299-1311. [PMID: 34564766 DOI: 10.1007/s00438-021-01823-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
A phylogenomic study conducted with different bioinformatic tools such as TYGS, REALPHY and AAI comparisons revealed a high rate of misidentified Streptomyces albus genomes in GenBank. Only 9 of the 18 annotated genomes available in the public database were correctly identified as S. albus species. The pangenome of the nine in silico confirmed S. albus genomes was almost closed. Lignocellulosic agroresidues were a common niche among strains of the S. albus clade while carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes) were highly conserved. Relevant enzymes for cellulose degradation such as beta glucosidases belonging to the GH1 family, a GH6 cellulase and a monooxygenase AA10-CBM2 were encoded by all S. albus genomes. Among them, one GH1 glycosidase would be regulated by CebR. However, this regulatory mechanism was not confirmed for other genes related to cellulose degradation. Based on AntiSMASH predictions, the core secondary metabolome of S. albus encompassed a total of 23 biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), where 4 were related to common metabolites within Streptomyces genus. Species specific BGCs included those related to pseudouridimycin and xantholipin. Additionally, four BGCs encoded putative derivatives of ibomycin, the lasso peptide SSV-2086, the lanthipeptide SapB and the terpene isorenieratene. Known metabolites could not be assigned to ten BGCs and three clusters did not match with any previously described BGC. The core genome of S. albus retrieved from nine closely related genomes revealed a high potential for the discovery of novel bioactive metabolites and underexplored regulatory genomic elements related to lignocellulose deconstruction.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Soledad Vela Gurovic
- CERZOS UNS-CONICET CCT-Bahía Blanca, Camino La Carrindanga Km7, B8000FWB, Bahía Blanca, Argentina. .,Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur, San Juan 670, 8000, Bahía Blanca, Argentina.
| | - Marina Lucía Díaz
- CERZOS UNS-CONICET CCT-Bahía Blanca, Camino La Carrindanga Km7, B8000FWB, Bahía Blanca, Argentina.,Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur, San Juan 670, 8000, Bahía Blanca, Argentina
| | - Cristian Andres Gallo
- CERZOS UNS-CONICET CCT-Bahía Blanca, Camino La Carrindanga Km7, B8000FWB, Bahía Blanca, Argentina
| | - Julián Dietrich
- Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur, San Juan 670, 8000, Bahía Blanca, Argentina
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16
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Mohamed OG, Dorandish S, Lindow R, Steltz M, Shoukat I, Shoukat M, Chehade H, Baghdadi S, McAlister-Raeburn M, Kamal A, Abebe D, Ali K, Ivy C, Antonova M, Schultz P, Angell M, Clemans D, Friebe T, Sherman D, Casper AM, Price PA, Tripathi A. Identification of a New Antimicrobial, Desertomycin H, Utilizing a Modified Crowded Plate Technique. Mar Drugs 2021; 19:424. [PMID: 34436264 PMCID: PMC8400312 DOI: 10.3390/md19080424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 07/24/2021] [Accepted: 07/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The antibiotic-resistant bacteria-associated infections are a major global healthcare threat. New classes of antimicrobial compounds are urgently needed as the frequency of infections caused by multidrug-resistant microbes continues to rise. Recent metagenomic data have demonstrated that there is still biosynthetic potential encoded in but transcriptionally silent in cultivatable bacterial genomes. However, the culture conditions required to identify and express silent biosynthetic gene clusters that yield natural products with antimicrobial activity are largely unknown. Here, we describe a new antibiotic discovery scheme, dubbed the modified crowded plate technique (mCPT), that utilizes complex microbial interactions to elicit antimicrobial production from otherwise silent biosynthetic gene clusters. Using the mCPT as part of the antibiotic crowdsourcing educational program Tiny EarthTM, we isolated over 1400 antibiotic-producing microbes, including 62 showing activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens. The natural product extracts generated from six microbial isolates showed potent activity against vancomycin-intermediate resistant Staphylococcus aureus. We utilized a targeted approach that coupled mass spectrometry data with bioactivity, yielding a new macrolactone class of metabolite, desertomycin H. In this study, we successfully demonstrate a concept that significantly increased our ability to quickly and efficiently identify microbes capable of the silent antibiotic production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Osama G. Mohamed
- Natural Products Discovery Core, Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; (O.G.M.); (P.S.)
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;
- Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr el-Aini Street, Cairo 11562, Egypt
| | - Sadaf Dorandish
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Rebecca Lindow
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Megan Steltz
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Ifrah Shoukat
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Maira Shoukat
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Hussein Chehade
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Sara Baghdadi
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Madelaine McAlister-Raeburn
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
- Biological Sciences, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA 01075, USA
| | - Asad Kamal
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
- Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
| | - Dawit Abebe
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Khaled Ali
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Chelsey Ivy
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Maria Antonova
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Pamela Schultz
- Natural Products Discovery Core, Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; (O.G.M.); (P.S.)
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;
| | - Michael Angell
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Daniel Clemans
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Timothy Friebe
- Chemistry Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA;
| | - David Sherman
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Anne M. Casper
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Paul A. Price
- Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA; (S.D.); (R.L.); (M.S.); (I.S.); (M.S.); (H.C.); (S.B.); (M.M.-R.); (A.K.); (D.A.); (K.A.); (C.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.); (D.C.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Ashootosh Tripathi
- Natural Products Discovery Core, Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; (O.G.M.); (P.S.)
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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17
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Targeting SUMOylation dependency in human cancer stem cells through a unique SAE2 motif revealed by chemical genomics. Cell Chem Biol 2021; 28:1394-1406.e10. [PMID: 33979648 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2021.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2020] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Natural products (NPs) encompass a rich source of bioactive chemical entities. Here, we used human cancer stem cells (CSCs) in a chemical genomics campaign with NP chemical space to interrogate extracts from diverse strains of actinomycete for anti-cancer properties. We identified a compound (McM25044) capable of selectively inhibiting human CSC function versus normal stem cell counterparts. Biochemical and molecular studies revealed that McM025044 exerts inhibition on human CSCs through the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) cascade, found to be hyperactive in a variety of human cancers. McM025044 impedes the SUMOylation pathway via direct targeting of the SAE1/2 complex. Treatment of patient-derived CSCs resulted in reduced levels of SUMOylated proteins and suppression of progenitor and stem cell capacity measured in vitro and in vivo. Our study overcomes a barrier in chemically inhibiting oncogenic SUMOylation activity and uncovers a unique role for SAE2 in the biology of human cancers.
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18
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Utilizing cross-species co-cultures for discovery of novel natural products. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2021; 69:252-262. [PMID: 33647849 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2021.01.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Discovery of new natural products, especially those with high biological activities and application values, is of great research significance. However, conventional methods based on the cultivation of microbial mono-cultures can hardly satisfy the increasing need of novel natural product generation. Recently, the development of co-cultures composed of different species has emerged as an effective approach for mining novel natural products. Inspired by microbial communities in nature, these co-culture systems create favorable environmental conditions to promote interactions between co-culture members for activating the natural product biosynthesis that is hard to induce otherwise. A large variety of novel natural products have been identified using this robust approach. This review summarizes the recent achievements of using cross-species co-cultures for natural products discovery and discusses the existing challenges and future directions.
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19
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Treatment strategies for cryptococcal infection: challenges, advances and future outlook. Nat Rev Microbiol 2021; 19:454-466. [PMID: 33558691 PMCID: PMC7868659 DOI: 10.1038/s41579-021-00511-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 146] [Impact Index Per Article: 48.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Cryptococcus spp., in particular Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii, have an enormous impact on human health worldwide. The global burden of cryptococcal meningitis is almost a quarter of a million cases and 181,000 deaths annually, with mortality rates of 100% if infections remain untreated. Despite these alarming statistics, treatment options for cryptococcosis remain limited, with only three major classes of drugs approved for clinical use. Exacerbating the public health burden is the fact that the only new class of antifungal drugs developed in decades, the echinocandins, displays negligible antifungal activity against Cryptococcus spp., and the efficacy of the remaining therapeutics is hampered by host toxicity and pathogen resistance. Here, we describe the current arsenal of antifungal agents and the treatment strategies employed to manage cryptococcal disease. We further elaborate on the recent advances in our understanding of the intrinsic and adaptive resistance mechanisms that are utilized by Cryptococcus spp. to evade therapeutic treatments. Finally, we review potential therapeutic strategies, including combination therapy, the targeting of virulence traits, impairing stress response pathways and modulating host immunity, to effectively treat infections caused by Cryptococcus spp. Overall, understanding of the mechanisms that regulate anti-cryptococcal drug resistance, coupled with advances in genomics technologies and high-throughput screening methodologies, will catalyse innovation and accelerate antifungal drug discovery.
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20
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Wilson BAP, Thornburg CC, Henrich CJ, Grkovic T, O'Keefe BR. Creating and screening natural product libraries. Nat Prod Rep 2020; 37:893-918. [PMID: 32186299 PMCID: PMC8494140 DOI: 10.1039/c9np00068b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Covering: up to 2020The National Cancer Institute of the United States (NCI) has initiated a Cancer Moonshot program entitled the NCI Program for Natural Product Discovery. As part of this effort, the NCI is producing a library of 1 000 000 partially purified natural product fractions which are being plated into 384-well plates and provided to the research community free of charge. As the first 326 000 of these fractions have now been made available, this review seeks to describe the general methods used to collect organisms, extract those organisms, and create a prefractionated library. Importantly, this review also details both cell-based and cell-free bioassay methods and the adaptations necessary to those methods to productively screen natural product libraries. Finally, this review briefly describes post-screen dereplication and compound purification and scale up procedures which can efficiently identify active compounds and produce sufficient quantities of natural products for further pre-clinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brice A P Wilson
- Molecular Targets Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702-1201, USA.
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21
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The Rise of Fungi: A Report on the CIFAR Program Fungal Kingdom: Threats & Opportunities Inaugural Meeting. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2020; 10:1837-1842. [PMID: 32482729 PMCID: PMC7263687 DOI: 10.1534/g3.120.401271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The first meeting of the CIFAR Fungal Kingdom: Threats & Opportunities research program saw the congregation of experts on fungal biology to address the most pressing threats fungi pose to global health, agriculture, and biodiversity. This report covers the research discussed during the meeting and the advancements made toward mitigating the devastating impact of fungi on plants, animals, and humans.
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22
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Goh F, Zhang MM, Lim TR, Low KN, Nge CE, Heng E, Yeo WL, Sirota FL, Crasta S, Tan Z, Ng V, Leong CY, Zhang H, Lezhava A, Chen SL, Hoon SS, Eisenhaber F, Eisenhaber B, Kanagasundaram Y, Wong FT, Ng SB. Identification and engineering of 32 membered antifungal macrolactone notonesomycins. Microb Cell Fact 2020; 19:71. [PMID: 32192516 PMCID: PMC7081687 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-020-01328-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Accepted: 03/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Notonesomycin A is a 32-membered bioactive glycosylated macrolactone known to be produced by Streptomyces aminophilus subsp. notonesogenes 647-AV1 and S. aminophilus DSM 40186. In a high throughput antifungal screening campaign, we identified an alternative notonesomycin A producing strain, Streptomyces sp. A793, and its biosynthetic gene cluster. From this strain, we further characterized a new more potent antifungal non-sulfated analogue, named notonesomycin B. Through CRISPR–Cas9 engineering of the biosynthetic gene cluster, we were able to increase the production yield of notonesomycin B by up to 18-fold as well as generate a strain that exclusively produces this analogue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Falicia Goh
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01 Matrix, Singapore, 138671, Singapore.,Biotransformation Innovation Platform, A*STAR, 61 Biopolis Drive, Proteos Level 4, Singapore, 138673, Singapore
| | - Mingzi M Zhang
- Metabolic Engineering, Functional Molecules & Polymers, Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, A*STAR, 31 Biopolis Way, Nanos #01-01, Singapore, 138669, Singapore.,Institute of Molecular and Genomic Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli County, Taiwan, R.O.C
| | - Tian Ru Lim
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01 Matrix, Singapore, 138671, Singapore
| | - Kia Ngee Low
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01 Matrix, Singapore, 138671, Singapore
| | - Choy Eng Nge
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01 Matrix, Singapore, 138671, Singapore
| | - Elena Heng
- Molecular Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, A*STAR, 31 Biopolis Way, Nanos, Singapore, 138669, Singapore
| | - Wan Lin Yeo
- Metabolic Engineering, Functional Molecules & Polymers, Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, A*STAR, 31 Biopolis Way, Nanos #01-01, Singapore, 138669, Singapore
| | - Fernanda L Sirota
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01 Matrix, Singapore, 138671, Singapore
| | - Sharon Crasta
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01 Matrix, Singapore, 138671, Singapore
| | - Zann Tan
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01 Matrix, Singapore, 138671, Singapore
| | - Veronica Ng
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01 Matrix, Singapore, 138671, Singapore
| | - Chung Yan Leong
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01 Matrix, Singapore, 138671, Singapore
| | - Huibin Zhang
- Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR, 60 Biopolis Street, Genome #02-01, Singapore, 138672, Singapore
| | - Alexander Lezhava
- Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR, 60 Biopolis Street, Genome #02-01, Singapore, 138672, Singapore
| | - Swaine L Chen
- Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR, 60 Biopolis Street, Genome #02-01, Singapore, 138672, Singapore.,Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 1E Kent Ridge Road, NUHS Tower Block, Level 10, Singapore, 119228, Singapore
| | - Shawn S Hoon
- Molecular Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, A*STAR, 31 Biopolis Way, Nanos, Singapore, 138669, Singapore
| | - Frank Eisenhaber
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01 Matrix, Singapore, 138671, Singapore.,School of Computer Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), 50 Nanyang Drive, Singapore, 637553, Singapore
| | - Birgit Eisenhaber
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01 Matrix, Singapore, 138671, Singapore
| | | | - Fong T Wong
- Molecular Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, A*STAR, 31 Biopolis Way, Nanos, Singapore, 138669, Singapore.
| | - Siew Bee Ng
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01 Matrix, Singapore, 138671, Singapore.
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23
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Rego A, Sousa AGG, Santos JP, Pascoal F, Canário J, Leão PN, Magalhães C. Diversity of Bacterial Biosynthetic Genes in Maritime Antarctica. Microorganisms 2020; 8:microorganisms8020279. [PMID: 32085500 PMCID: PMC7074882 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8020279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2020] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacterial natural products (NPs) are still a major source of new drug leads. Polyketides (PKs) and non-ribosomal peptides (NRP) are two pharmaceutically important families of NPs and recent studies have revealed Antarctica to harbor endemic polyketide synthase (PKS) and non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) genes, likely to be involved in the production of novel metabolites. Despite this, the diversity of secondary metabolites genes in Antarctica is still poorly explored. In this study, a computational bioprospection approach was employed to study the diversity and identity of PKS and NRPS genes to one of the most biodiverse areas in maritime Antarctica—Maxwell Bay. Amplicon sequencing of soil samples targeting ketosynthase (KS) and adenylation (AD) domains of PKS and NRPS genes, respectively, revealed abundant and unexplored chemical diversity in this peninsula. About 20% of AD domain sequences were only distantly related to characterized biosynthetic genes. Several PKS and NRPS genes were found to be closely associated to recently described metabolites including those from uncultured and candidate phyla. The combination of new approaches in computational biology and new culture-dependent and -independent strategies is thus critical for the recovery of the potential novel chemistry encoded in Antarctica microorganisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Rego
- Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto, 4450-208 Matosinhos, Portugal; (A.R.); (A.G.G.S.); (J.P.S.); (F.P.)
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
| | - António G. G. Sousa
- Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto, 4450-208 Matosinhos, Portugal; (A.R.); (A.G.G.S.); (J.P.S.); (F.P.)
| | - João P. Santos
- Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto, 4450-208 Matosinhos, Portugal; (A.R.); (A.G.G.S.); (J.P.S.); (F.P.)
- Institute F.-A. Forel, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Geneva, 66, Boulevard Carl-Vogt, 1211 Genève 4, Switzerland
| | - Francisco Pascoal
- Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto, 4450-208 Matosinhos, Portugal; (A.R.); (A.G.G.S.); (J.P.S.); (F.P.)
| | - João Canário
- Centro de Química Estrutural at Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal;
| | - Pedro N. Leão
- Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto, 4450-208 Matosinhos, Portugal; (A.R.); (A.G.G.S.); (J.P.S.); (F.P.)
- Correspondence: (P.N.L); (C.M.)
| | - Catarina Magalhães
- Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto, 4450-208 Matosinhos, Portugal; (A.R.); (A.G.G.S.); (J.P.S.); (F.P.)
- Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, 4150-179 Porto, Portugal
- School of Science, University of Waikato, Hamilton 3216, New Zealand
- Correspondence: (P.N.L); (C.M.)
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24
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Wong JH, Alfatah M, Kong KW, Hoon S, Yeo WL, Ching KC, Jie Hui Goh C, Zhang MM, Lim YH, Wong FT, Arumugam P. Chemogenomic profiling in yeast reveals antifungal mode-of-action of polyene macrolactam auroramycin. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0218189. [PMID: 31181115 PMCID: PMC6557514 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study, we report antifungal activity of auroramycin against Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, and Cryptococcus neoformans. Auroramycin, a potent antimicrobial doubly glycosylated 24-membered polyene macrolactam, was previously isolated and characterized, following CRISPR-Cas9 mediated activation of a silent polyketide synthase biosynthetic gene cluster in Streptomyces rosesporous NRRL 15998. Chemogenomic profiling of auroramycin in yeast has linked its antifungal bioactivity to vacuolar transport and membrane organization. This was verified by disruption of vacuolar structure and membrane integrity of yeast cells with auroramycin treatment. Addition of salt but not sorbitol to the medium rescued the growth of auroramycin-treated yeast cells suggesting that auroramycin causes ionic stress. Furthermore, auroramycin caused hyperpolarization of the yeast plasma membrane and displayed a synergistic interaction with cationic hygromycin. Our data strongly suggest that auroramycin inhibits yeast cells by causing leakage of cations from the cytoplasm. Thus, auroramycin’s mode-of-action is distinct from known antifungal polyenes, reinforcing the importance of natural products in the discovery of new anti-infectives.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Shawn Hoon
- Molecular Engineering Laboratory, Singapore
| | - Wan Lin Yeo
- Metabolic Engineering Research Laboratory, Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, Singapore
| | - Kuan Chieh Ching
- Organic Chemistry, Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, Singapore
| | | | - Mingzi M Zhang
- Metabolic Engineering Research Laboratory, Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, Singapore
| | - Yee Hwee Lim
- Organic Chemistry, Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, Singapore
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25
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Abstract
In this issue of Cell Chemical Biology, Robbins et al. (2016) identify ibomycin, a unique compound with antifungal activity. Microbial physiological and genetic studies suggest that endocytic trafficking might be the site of action for this lead antifungal compound.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Andrew Alspaugh
- Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
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26
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Pérez-Victoria I, Oves-Costales D, Lacret R, Martín J, Sánchez-Hidalgo M, Díaz C, Cautain B, Vicente F, Genilloud O, Reyes F. Structure elucidation and biosynthetic gene cluster analysis of caniferolides A–D, new bioactive 36-membered macrolides from the marine-derived Streptomyces caniferus CA-271066. Org Biomol Chem 2019; 17:2954-2971. [DOI: 10.1039/c8ob03115k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The structures of caniferolides A–D have been determined combining NMR and bioinformatics prediction of the absolute configuration.
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27
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Son S, Hong YS, Futamura Y, Jang M, Lee JK, Heo KT, Ko SK, Lee JS, Takahashi S, Osada H, Jang JH, Ahn JS. Catenulisporolides, Glycosylated Triene Macrolides from the Chemically Underexploited Actinomycete Catenulispora Species. Org Lett 2018; 20:7234-7238. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.orglett.8b03160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sangkeun Son
- Anticancer Agent Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju 28116, Korea
| | - Young-Soo Hong
- Anticancer Agent Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju 28116, Korea
- Department of Biomolecular Science, KRIBB School of Bioscience, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Korea
| | - Yushi Futamura
- Chemical Biology Research Group, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Research Science, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Mina Jang
- Anticancer Agent Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju 28116, Korea
- Department of Biomolecular Science, KRIBB School of Bioscience, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Korea
| | - Jae Kyoung Lee
- Anticancer Agent Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju 28116, Korea
| | - Kyung Taek Heo
- Anticancer Agent Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju 28116, Korea
- Department of Biomolecular Science, KRIBB School of Bioscience, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Korea
| | - Sung-Kyun Ko
- Anticancer Agent Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju 28116, Korea
- Department of Biomolecular Science, KRIBB School of Bioscience, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Korea
| | - Jung Sook Lee
- Korean Collection for Type Cultures, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Jeongeup 56212, Korea
| | - Shunji Takahashi
- RIKEN-KRIBB Joint Research Unit, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Research Science, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Osada
- Chemical Biology Research Group, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Research Science, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Jae-Hyuk Jang
- Anticancer Agent Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju 28116, Korea
- Department of Biomolecular Science, KRIBB School of Bioscience, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Korea
| | - Jong Seog Ahn
- Anticancer Agent Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju 28116, Korea
- Department of Biomolecular Science, KRIBB School of Bioscience, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Korea
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28
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Geddes-McAlister J, Shapiro RS. New pathogens, new tricks: emerging, drug-resistant fungal pathogens and future prospects for antifungal therapeutics. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2018; 1435:57-78. [DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2018] [Revised: 03/19/2018] [Accepted: 03/28/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Geddes-McAlister
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology; University of Guelph; Guelph Ontario Canada
- Department of Proteomics and Signal Transduction; Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry; Munich Germany
| | - Rebecca S. Shapiro
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology; University of Guelph; Guelph Ontario Canada
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29
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Staurosporine Induces Filamentation in the Human Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans via Signaling through Cyr1 and Protein Kinase A. mSphere 2017; 2:mSphere00056-17. [PMID: 28261668 PMCID: PMC5332603 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00056-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2017] [Accepted: 02/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The impact of fungal pathogens on human health is devastating. One of the most pervasive fungal pathogens is Candida albicans, which kills ~40% of people suffering from bloodstream infections. Treatment of these infections is extremely difficult, as fungi are closely related to humans, and there are limited drugs that kill the fungus without host toxicity. The capacity of C. albicans to transition between yeast and filamentous forms is a key virulence trait. Thus, understanding the genetic pathways that regulate morphogenesis could provide novel therapeutic targets to treat C. albicans infections. Here, we establish the small molecule staurosporine as an inducer of filamentous growth. We unveil distinct regulatory circuitry required for staurosporine-induced filamentation that appears to be unique to this filament-inducing cue. Thus, this work highlights the fact that small molecules, such as staurosporine, can improve our understanding of the pathways required for key virulence programs, which may lead to the development of novel therapeutics. Protein kinases are key regulators of signal transduction pathways that participate in diverse cellular processes. In fungal pathogens, kinases regulate signaling pathways that govern drug resistance, stress adaptation, and pathogenesis. The impact of kinases on the fungal regulatory circuitry has recently garnered considerable attention in the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans, which is a leading cause of human morbidity and mortality. Complex regulatory circuitry governs the C. albicans morphogenetic transition between yeast and filamentous growth, which is a key virulence trait. Here, we report that staurosporine, a promiscuous kinase inhibitor that abrogates fungal drug resistance, also influences C. albicans morphogenesis by inducing filamentation in the absence of any other inducing cue. We further establish that staurosporine exerts its effect via the adenylyl cyclase Cyr1 and the cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase A (PKA). Strikingly, filamentation induced by staurosporine does not require the known upstream regulators of Cyr1, Ras1 or Pkc1, or effectors downstream of PKA, including Efg1. We further demonstrate that Cyr1 is capable of activating PKA to enable filamentation in response to staurosporine through a mechanism that does not require degradation of the transcriptional repressor Nrg1. We establish that staurosporine-induced filamentation is accompanied by a defect in septin ring formation, implicating cell cycle kinases as potential staurosporine targets underpinning this cellular response. Thus, we establish staurosporine as a chemical probe to elucidate the architecture of cellular signaling governing fungal morphogenesis and highlight the existence of novel circuitry through which the Cyr1 and PKA govern a key virulence trait. IMPORTANCE The impact of fungal pathogens on human health is devastating. One of the most pervasive fungal pathogens is Candida albicans, which kills ~40% of people suffering from bloodstream infections. Treatment of these infections is extremely difficult, as fungi are closely related to humans, and there are limited drugs that kill the fungus without host toxicity. The capacity of C. albicans to transition between yeast and filamentous forms is a key virulence trait. Thus, understanding the genetic pathways that regulate morphogenesis could provide novel therapeutic targets to treat C. albicans infections. Here, we establish the small molecule staurosporine as an inducer of filamentous growth. We unveil distinct regulatory circuitry required for staurosporine-induced filamentation that appears to be unique to this filament-inducing cue. Thus, this work highlights the fact that small molecules, such as staurosporine, can improve our understanding of the pathways required for key virulence programs, which may lead to the development of novel therapeutics.
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