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Luo P, Huang JH, Lv JM, Wang GQ, Hu D, Gao H. Biosynthesis of fungal terpenoids. Nat Prod Rep 2024; 41:748-783. [PMID: 38265076 DOI: 10.1039/d3np00052d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Covering: up to August 2023Terpenoids, which are widely distributed in animals, plants, and microorganisms, are a large group of natural products with diverse structures and various biological activities. They have made great contributions to human health as therapeutic agents, such as the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel and anti-malarial agent artemisinin. Accordingly, the biosynthesis of this important class of natural products has been extensively studied, which generally involves two major steps: hydrocarbon skeleton construction by terpenoid cyclases and skeleton modification by tailoring enzymes. Additionally, fungi (Ascomycota and Basidiomycota) serve as an important source for the discovery of terpenoids. With the rapid development of sequencing technology and bioinformatics approaches, genome mining has emerged as one of the most effective strategies to discover novel terpenoids from fungi. To date, numerous terpenoid cyclases, including typical class I and class II terpenoid cyclases as well as emerging UbiA-type terpenoid cyclases, have been identified, together with a variety of tailoring enzymes, including cytochrome P450 enzymes, flavin-dependent monooxygenases, and acyltransferases. In this review, our aim is to comprehensively present all fungal terpenoid cyclases identified up to August 2023, with a focus on newly discovered terpenoid cyclases, especially the emerging UbiA-type terpenoid cyclases, and their related tailoring enzymes from 2015 to August 2023.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pan Luo
- Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine & Natural Products, College of Pharmacy, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of TCM and New Drugs Research, International Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization and Innovative Drug Development of Chinese Ministry of Education of China, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
| | - Jia-Hua Huang
- Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine & Natural Products, College of Pharmacy, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of TCM and New Drugs Research, International Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization and Innovative Drug Development of Chinese Ministry of Education of China, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
| | - Jian-Ming Lv
- Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine & Natural Products, College of Pharmacy, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of TCM and New Drugs Research, International Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization and Innovative Drug Development of Chinese Ministry of Education of China, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
| | - Gao-Qian Wang
- Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine & Natural Products, College of Pharmacy, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of TCM and New Drugs Research, International Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization and Innovative Drug Development of Chinese Ministry of Education of China, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
| | - Dan Hu
- Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine & Natural Products, College of Pharmacy, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of TCM and New Drugs Research, International Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization and Innovative Drug Development of Chinese Ministry of Education of China, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
| | - Hao Gao
- Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine & Natural Products, College of Pharmacy, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of TCM and New Drugs Research, International Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization and Innovative Drug Development of Chinese Ministry of Education of China, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
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2
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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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3
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Thenmozhi Kulasekaran N, Sankara Subramanian SH, Thilakam ML, Gopal D, Lee JK, Marimuthu J. Functional analysis of a putative type III polyketide synthase from deep-sea sediment metagenome. J Biosci Bioeng 2024; 137:239-244. [PMID: 38307768 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiosc.2023.12.019] [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: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
Type III polyketide synthases (type III PKSs) are single homodimeric enzymes that produce diverse products such as phloroglucinol, pyrones, resorcinols and chalcones which are biotechnologically important molecules. In an attempt to identify new type III PKS from extreme environments, the deep-sea sediment metagenome from Bay of Bengal was screened for type III PKS genes. BLASTX analyses of Nanopore sequence derived metagenome with the in-house created PKS database revealed a full length type III PKS from a 5 kb fragment. The annotated full length type III PKS, S9PKS showed 25-30 % sequence identity towards previously characterized enzymes. To functionally characterize the gene, it was synthesized, cloned into pET28a and pColdI vectors under T7 and csp promoters, respectively, and expressed in Escherichia coli Rosetta(DE3) pLysS. The optimized PKS (OptiPKS) was expressed as inclusion bodies under both promoters. The inclusion bodies were successfully solubilised using low concentration of urea, refolded and purified using Ni-NTA Agarose resin. The purified OptiPKS was tested for functionality using fatty acyl-CoA substrates at various temperatures. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses revealed that OptiPKS produced tri and tetraketide pyrones using C4 to C10 acyl-CoA starter substrates. Further characterization and mutation of the enzyme would reveal its functional significance. Thus, the study could be a lead for the annotation and functional characterization of putative type III PKS from environmental metagenome data.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Mary Leema Thilakam
- Marine Biotechnology Division, National Institute of Ocean Technology, Pallikaranai, Chennai-600100, Tamilnadu, India
| | - Dharani Gopal
- Marine Biotechnology Division, National Institute of Ocean Technology, Pallikaranai, Chennai-600100, Tamilnadu, India
| | - Jung Kul Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Konkuk University, Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeya Marimuthu
- Marine Biotechnology Division, National Institute of Ocean Technology, Pallikaranai, Chennai-600100, Tamilnadu, India.
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Karamad V, Sogutlu F, Ozkaya FC, Shademan B, Ebrahim W, El-Neketi M, Avci CB. Investigation of iso-propylchaetominine anticancer activity on apoptosis, cell cycle and Wnt signaling pathway in different cancer models. Fitoterapia 2024; 173:105789. [PMID: 38158162 DOI: 10.1016/j.fitote.2023.105789] [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: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Dysregulation of the Wnt signaling pathway contributes to the development of many cancer types. Natural compounds produced with biotechnological systems have been the focus of research for being a new drug candidate both with unlimited resources and cost-effective production. In this study, it was aimed to reveal the effects of isopropylchaetominine on cytotoxic, cytostatic, apoptotic and Wnt signaling pathways in brain, pancreatic and prostate cancer. The IC50 values of isopropylchaetominine in U-87 MG, PANC1, PC3 and LNCaP cells were calculated as 91.94 μM, 41.68 μM, 54.54 μM and 7.86 μM in 72nd h, respectively. The metabolite arrests the cell cycle in G0/G1 phase in each cancer cells. Iso-propylchaetominine induced a 4.3-fold and 1.9-fold increase in apoptosis in PC3 and PANC1 cells, respectively. The toxicity of isopropylchaetominine in healthy fibroblast cells was assessed using the annexin V method, and no significant apoptotic activity was observed between the groups treated with the active substance and untreated. In U-87 MG, PANC1, PC3, and LNCaP cells under treatment with isopropylchaetominin, the expression levels of DKK3, TLE1, AES, DKK1, FRZB, DAB2, AXIN1/2, PPARD, SFRP4, APC and SOX17 tumor suppressor genes increased significantly. Decreases in expression of Wnt1, Wnt2, Wnt3, Wnt4, Wnt5, Wnt6, Wnt10, Wnt11, FRZ2, FRZ3, FRZ7, TCF7L1, BCL9, PYGO, CCND2, c-MYC, WISP1 and CTNNB1 oncogenic genes were detected. All these result shows that isopropylchaetominine can present promising new treatment strategy in different cancer types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vahidreza Karamad
- Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir 35100, Turkey
| | - Fatma Sogutlu
- Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir 35100, Turkey
| | - Ferhat Can Ozkaya
- Aliaga Industrial Zone Technology Transfer Office, Aliaga, İzmir 35800, Turkey
| | - Behrouz Shademan
- Stem cell Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz 51666-16471, Iran
| | - Weaam Ebrahim
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
| | - Mona El-Neketi
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
| | - Cigir Biray Avci
- Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir 35100, Turkey.
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Park SC, Steffan BN, Yun Lim F, Gupta R, Ayaloglu Butun F, Chen H, Ye R, Decker T, Wu CC, Kelleher NL, Woo Bok J, Keller NP. Terpenoid balance in Aspergillus nidulans unveiled by heterologous squalene synthase expression. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadk7416. [PMID: 38381828 PMCID: PMC10881027 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk7416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Filamentous fungi produce numerous uncharacterized natural products (NPs) that are often challenging to characterize because of cryptic expression in laboratory conditions. Previously, we have successfully isolated novel NPs by expressing fungal artificial chromosomes (FACs) from a variety of fungal species into Aspergillus nidulans. Here, we demonstrate a twist to FAC utility wherein heterologous expression of a Pseudogymnoascus destructans FAC in A. nidulans altered endogenous terpene biosynthetic pathways. In contrast to wild type, the FAC transformant produced increased levels of squalene and aspernidine type compounds, including three new nidulenes (1- 2, and 5), and lost nearly all ability to synthesize the major A. nidulans characteristic terpene, austinol. Deletion of a squalene synthase gene in the FAC restored wild-type chemical profiles. The altered squalene to farnesyl pyrophosphate ratio leading to synthesis of nidulenes and aspernidines at the expense of farnesyl pyrophosphate-derived austinols provides unexpected insight into routes of terpene synthesis in fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sung Chul Park
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Breanne N. Steffan
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Fang Yun Lim
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Raveena Gupta
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | | | | | - Rosa Ye
- Intact Genomics Inc., St. Louis, MO, USA
| | | | | | - Neil L. Kelleher
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Jin Woo Bok
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Nancy P. Keller
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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Wu CC, Stierle AA, Stierle DB, Chen H, Swyers M, Decker T, Borkowski E, Korajczyk P, Ye R, Mondava N. Activation of cryptic biosynthetic gene clusters by fungal artificial chromosomes to produce novel secondary metabolites. AIMS Microbiol 2023; 9:757-779. [PMID: 38173972 PMCID: PMC10758572 DOI: 10.3934/microbiol.2023039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
In 2017, we reported the discovery of Berkeleylactone A (BPLA), a novel, potent antibiotic produced exclusively in co-culture by two extremophilic fungi, Penicillium fuscum and P. camembertii/clavigerum, which were isolated from the Berkeley Pit, an acid mine waste lake, in Butte, Montana. Neither fungus synthesized BPLA when grown in axenic culture. Recent studies suggest that secondary metabolites (SMs) are often synthesized by enzymes encoded by co-localized genes that form "biosynthetic gene clusters" (BGCs), which might remain silent (inactive) under various fermentation conditions. Fungi may also harbor cryptic BGCs that are not associated with previously characterized molecules. We turned to the tools of Fungal Artificial Chromosomes (FAC)-Next-Gen-Sequencing (NGS) to understand how co-culture activated cryptic biosynthesis of BPLA and several related berkeleylactones and to further investigate the true biosynthetic potential of these two fungi. FAC-NGS enables the capture of BGCs as individual FACs for heterologous expression in a modified strain of Aspergillus nidulans (heterologous host, FAC-AnHH). With this methodology, we created ten BGC-FACs that yielded fourteen different SMs, including strobilurin, which was previously isolated exclusively from basidiomycetes. Eleven of these compounds were not detected in the extracts of the FAC-AnHH. Of this discrete set, only the novel compound citreohybriddional had been isolated from either Penicillium sp. before and only at very low yield. We propose that through heterologous expression, FACs activated these silent BGCs, resulting in the synthesis of new natural products (NPs) with yields as high as 50%-60% of the crude organic extracts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengcang C. Wu
- Intact Genomics, Inc. 1100 Corporate Square Drive, Suite 257, St Louis, Missouri, 63132, USA
| | - Andrea A. Stierle
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812, USA
| | - Donald B. Stierle
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812, USA
| | - Hongyu Chen
- Intact Genomics, Inc. 1100 Corporate Square Drive, Suite 257, St Louis, Missouri, 63132, USA
| | - Michael Swyers
- Intact Genomics, Inc. 1100 Corporate Square Drive, Suite 257, St Louis, Missouri, 63132, USA
| | - Timothy Decker
- Intact Genomics, Inc. 1100 Corporate Square Drive, Suite 257, St Louis, Missouri, 63132, USA
| | - Emili Borkowski
- Intact Genomics, Inc. 1100 Corporate Square Drive, Suite 257, St Louis, Missouri, 63132, USA
| | - Peter Korajczyk
- Intact Genomics, Inc. 1100 Corporate Square Drive, Suite 257, St Louis, Missouri, 63132, USA
| | - Rosa Ye
- Intact Genomics, Inc. 1100 Corporate Square Drive, Suite 257, St Louis, Missouri, 63132, USA
| | - Niel Mondava
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812, USA
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Park SC, Steffan BN, Lim FY, Gupta R, Butun FA, Chen H, Ye R, Decker T, Wu CC, Kelleher NL, Bok JW, Keller NP. Terpenoid balance in Aspergillus nidulans unveiled by heterologous squalene synthase expression. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.20.563295. [PMID: 37905136 PMCID: PMC10614972 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.20.563295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Filamentous fungi produce numerous uncharacterized natural products (NPs) that are often challenging to characterize due to cryptic expression in laboratory conditions. Previously, we have successfully isolated novel NPs by expressing fungal artificial chromosomes (FACs) from a variety of fungal species into Aspergillus nidulans. Here, we demonstrate a new twist to FAC utility wherein heterologous expression of a Pseudogymnoascus destructans FAC in A. nidulans altered endogenous terpene biosynthetic pathways. In contrast to wildtype, the FAC transformant produced increased levels of squalene and aspernidine type compounds, including three new nidulenes (1-2, 5), and lost nearly all ability to synthesize the major A. nidulans characteristic terpene, austinol. Deletion of a squalene synthase gene in the FAC restored wildtype chemical profiles. The altered squalene to farnesyl pyrophosphate ratio leading to synthesis of nidulenes and aspernidines at the expense of farnesyl pyrophosphate derived austinols provides unexpected insight into routes of terpene synthesis in fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sung Chul Park
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI
| | - Breanne N. Steffan
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI
| | - Fang Yun Lim
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle WA
| | - Raveena Gupta
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, IL
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Jin Woo Bok
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI
| | - Nancy P. Keller
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI
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Liu L, Wang B, Duan G, Wang J, Pan Z, Ou M, Bai X, Wang P, Zhao D, Nan N, Li D, Sun W. Histone Deacetylase UvHST2 Is a Global Regulator of Secondary Metabolism in Ustilaginoidea virens. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2023; 71:13124-13136. [PMID: 37615365 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.3c01782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Ustilaginoidea virens, the causal agent of rice false smut, produces a large amount of mycotoxins, including ustilaginoidins and sorbicillinoids. However, little is known about the regulatory mechanism of mycotoxin biosynthesis inU. virens. Here, we demonstrate that the NAD+-dependent histone deacetylase UvHST2 negatively regulates ustilaginoidin biosynthesis. UvHst2 knockout caused retarded hypha growth and reduced conidiation and pathogenicity inU. virens. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the transcription factor genes, transporter genes, and other tailoring genes in eight biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) including ustilaginoidin and sorbicillinoid BGCs were upregulated in ΔUvhst2. Interestingly, the UvHst2 deletion affects alternative splicing. Metabolomics revealed that UvHST2 negatively regulates the biosynthesis of various mycotoxins including ustilaginoidins, sorbicillin, ochratoxin B, zearalenone, and O-M-sterigmatocystin. Combined transcriptome and metabolome analyses uncover that UvHST2 positively regulates pathogenicity but negatively modulates the expression of BGCs involved in secondary metabolism. Collectively, UvHST2 functions as a global regulator of secondary metabolism inU. virens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Liu
- College of Plant Protection, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Management of Crop Pests and Diseases, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, Jilin, China
| | - Bo Wang
- College of Plant Protection, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Management of Crop Pests and Diseases, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, Jilin, China
- College of Plant Protection and the Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Guohua Duan
- College of Plant Protection, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Management of Crop Pests and Diseases, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, Jilin, China
| | - Jing Wang
- College of Plant Protection, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Management of Crop Pests and Diseases, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, Jilin, China
| | - Zequn Pan
- College of Plant Protection, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Management of Crop Pests and Diseases, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, Jilin, China
| | - Mingming Ou
- College of Plant Protection, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Management of Crop Pests and Diseases, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, Jilin, China
| | - Xiaolong Bai
- College of Plant Protection, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Management of Crop Pests and Diseases, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, Jilin, China
| | - Peiying Wang
- College of Plant Protection, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Management of Crop Pests and Diseases, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, Jilin, China
| | - Dan Zhao
- College of Plant Protection, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Management of Crop Pests and Diseases, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, Jilin, China
| | - Nan Nan
- College of Plant Protection, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Management of Crop Pests and Diseases, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, Jilin, China
| | - Dayong Li
- College of Plant Protection, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Management of Crop Pests and Diseases, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, Jilin, China
| | - Wenxian Sun
- College of Plant Protection, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Management of Crop Pests and Diseases, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, Jilin, China
- College of Plant Protection and the Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
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9
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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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10
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Xiao D, Li W, Li T, Zhou J, Zhang M, Chen X, Zhang L, Yue Q, Dun B, Wang C, Xu Y. Mass Spectrometry-Guided Discovery of Multi- N-Methylated Cyclodecapeptides Auyuittuqamides E-H from Sesquicillium sp. QL0466. JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS 2023; 86:1240-1250. [PMID: 37145877 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.2c01168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Mass spectrometry-based dereplication and prioritization led to the discovery of four multi-N-methylated cyclodecapeptides, auyuittuqamides E-H (1-4), from a soil-derived Sesquicillium sp. The planar structures of these compounds were elucidated based on analysis of HRESIMS and NMR data. Absolute configurations of the chiral amino acid residues were assigned by a combination of the advanced Marfey's method, chiral-phase LC-MS analysis, and J-based configuration analysis, revealing that 1-4 contain both d- and l-isomers of N-methylleucine (MeLeu). Differentiation of d- and l-MeLeu in the sequence was achieved by advanced Marfey's analysis of the diagnostic peptide fragments generated from partial hydrolysis of 1. Bioinformatic analysis identified a putative biosynthetic gene cluster (auy) for auyuittuqamides E-H, and a plausible biosynthetic pathway was proposed. These newly identified fungal cyclodecapeptides (1-4) displayed in vitro growth inhibitory activity against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium with MIC values of 8 μg/mL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongliang Xiao
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenhua Li
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Tianyi Li
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianshuang Zhou
- The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Mei Zhang
- Institute of Analysis and Testing, Beijing Academy of Science and Technology (Beijing Center for Physical and Chemical Analysis), 7 Fengxian Central Road, Beijing 100094, People's Republic of China
| | - Xinqi Chen
- Institute of Analysis and Testing, Beijing Academy of Science and Technology (Beijing Center for Physical and Chemical Analysis), 7 Fengxian Central Road, Beijing 100094, People's Republic of China
| | - Liwen Zhang
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Qun Yue
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Baoqing Dun
- The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Chen Wang
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuquan Xu
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
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11
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Ayon NJ. High-Throughput Screening of Natural Product and Synthetic Molecule Libraries for Antibacterial Drug Discovery. Metabolites 2023; 13:625. [PMID: 37233666 PMCID: PMC10220967 DOI: 10.3390/metabo13050625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 04/29/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Due to the continued emergence of resistance and a lack of new and promising antibiotics, bacterial infection has become a major public threat. High-throughput screening (HTS) allows rapid screening of a large collection of molecules for bioactivity testing and holds promise in antibacterial drug discovery. More than 50% of the antibiotics that are currently available on the market are derived from natural products. However, with the easily discoverable antibiotics being found, finding new antibiotics from natural sources has seen limited success. Finding new natural sources for antibacterial activity testing has also proven to be challenging. In addition to exploring new sources of natural products and synthetic biology, omics technology helped to study the biosynthetic machinery of existing natural sources enabling the construction of unnatural synthesizers of bioactive molecules and the identification of molecular targets of antibacterial agents. On the other hand, newer and smarter strategies have been continuously pursued to screen synthetic molecule libraries for new antibiotics and new druggable targets. Biomimetic conditions are explored to mimic the real infection model to better study the ligand-target interaction to enable the designing of more effective antibacterial drugs. This narrative review describes various traditional and contemporaneous approaches of high-throughput screening of natural products and synthetic molecule libraries for antibacterial drug discovery. It further discusses critical factors for HTS assay design, makes a general recommendation, and discusses possible alternatives to traditional HTS of natural products and synthetic molecule libraries for antibacterial drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Navid J Ayon
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
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12
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Advances and Challenges in CRISPR/Cas-Based Fungal Genome Engineering for Secondary Metabolite Production: A Review. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:jof9030362. [PMID: 36983530 PMCID: PMC10058990 DOI: 10.3390/jof9030362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Fungi represent an important source of bioactive secondary metabolites (SMs), which have wide applications in many fields, including medicine, agriculture, human health, and many other industries. The genes involved in SM biosynthesis are usually clustered adjacent to each other into a region known as a biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC). The recent advent of a diversity of genetic and genomic technologies has facilitated the identification of many cryptic or uncharacterized BGCs and their associated SMs. However, there are still many challenges that hamper the broader exploration of industrially important secondary metabolites. The recent advanced CRISPR/Cas system has revolutionized fungal genetic engineering and enabled the discovery of novel bioactive compounds. In this review, we firstly introduce fungal BGCs and their relationships with associated SMs, followed by a brief summary of the conventional strategies for fungal genetic engineering. Next, we introduce a range of state-of-the-art CRISPR/Cas-based tools that have been developed and review recent applications of these methods in fungi for research on the biosynthesis of SMs. Finally, the challenges and limitations of these CRISPR/Cas-based systems are discussed and directions for future research are proposed in order to expand their applications and improve efficiency for fungal genetic engineering.
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13
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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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14
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Kosalková K, Barreiro C, Sánchez-Orejas IC, Cueto L, García-Estrada C. Biotechnological Fungal Platforms for the Production of Biosynthetic Cannabinoids. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:jof9020234. [PMID: 36836348 PMCID: PMC9963667 DOI: 10.3390/jof9020234] [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: 01/17/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Cannabinoids are bioactive meroterpenoids comprising prenylated polyketide molecules that can modulate a wide range of physiological processes. Cannabinoids have been shown to possess various medical/therapeutic effects, such as anti-convulsive, anti-anxiety, anti-psychotic, antinausea, and anti-microbial properties. The increasing interest in their beneficial effects and application as clinically useful drugs has promoted the development of heterologous biosynthetic platforms for the industrial production of these compounds. This approach can help circumvent the drawbacks associated with extraction from naturally occurring plants or chemical synthesis. In this review, we provide an overview of the fungal platforms developed by genetic engineering for the biosynthetic production of cannabinoids. Different yeast species, such as Komagataella phaffii (formerly P. pastoris) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, have been genetically modified to include the cannabinoid biosynthetic pathway and to improve metabolic fluxes in order to increase cannabinoid titers. In addition, we engineered the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum for the first time as a host microorganism for the production of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid from intermediates (cannabigerolic acid and olivetolic acid), thereby showing the potential of filamentous fungi as alternative platforms for cannabinoid biosynthesis upon optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarina Kosalková
- INBIOTEC (Instituto de Biotecnología de León), Av. Real 1, 24006 León, Spain
| | - Carlos Barreiro
- INBIOTEC (Instituto de Biotecnología de León), Av. Real 1, 24006 León, Spain
- Área de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Departamento de Biología Molecular, Campus de Vegazana, Universidad de León, 24007 León, Spain
| | | | - Laura Cueto
- INBIOTEC (Instituto de Biotecnología de León), Av. Real 1, 24006 León, Spain
| | - Carlos García-Estrada
- INBIOTEC (Instituto de Biotecnología de León), Av. Real 1, 24006 León, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Campus de Vegazana, Universidad de León, 24007 León, Spain
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +34-987-293-693
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15
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Chiang CY, Ohashi M, Tang Y. Deciphering chemical logic of fungal natural product biosynthesis through heterologous expression and genome mining. Nat Prod Rep 2023; 40:89-127. [PMID: 36125308 PMCID: PMC9906657 DOI: 10.1039/d2np00050d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Covering: 2010 to 2022Heterologous expression of natural product biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) has become a widely used tool for genome mining of cryptic pathways, bottom-up investigation of biosynthetic enzymes, and engineered biosynthesis of new natural product variants. In the field of fungal natural products, heterologous expression of a complete pathway was first demonstrated in the biosynthesis of tenellin in Aspergillus oryzae in 2010. Since then, advances in genome sequencing, DNA synthesis, synthetic biology, etc. have led to mining, assignment, and characterization of many fungal BGCs using various heterologous hosts. In this review, we will highlight key examples in the last decade in integrating heterologous expression into genome mining and biosynthetic investigations. The review will cover the choice of heterologous hosts, prioritization of BGCs for structural novelty, and how shunt products from heterologous expression can reveal important insights into the chemical logic of biosynthesis. The review is not meant to be exhaustive but is rather a collection of examples from researchers in the field, including ours, that demonstrates the usefulness and pitfalls of heterologous biosynthesis in fungal natural product discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen-Yu Chiang
- Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 5531 Boelter Hall, 420 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
| | - Masao Ohashi
- Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 5531 Boelter Hall, 420 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
| | - Yi Tang
- Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 5531 Boelter Hall, 420 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
- Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 5531 Boelter Hall, 420 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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16
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Munusamy M, Tan K, Nge CE, Gakuubi MM, Crasta S, Kanagasundaram Y, Ng SB. Diversity and Biosynthetic Potential of Fungi Isolated from St. John's Island, Singapore. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24021033. [PMID: 36674548 PMCID: PMC9861175 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24021033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Adaptation to a wide variety of habitats allows fungi to develop unique abilities to produce diverse secondary metabolites with diverse bioactivities. In this study, 30 Ascomycetes fungi isolated from St. John's Island, Singapore were investigated for their general biosynthetic potential and their ability to produce antimicrobial secondary metabolites (SMs). All the 30 fungal isolates belong to the Phylum Ascomycota and are distributed into 6 orders and 18 genera with Order Hypocreales having the highest number of representative (37%). Screening for polyketide synthase (PKS) and nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) genes using degenerate PCR led to the identification of 23 polyketide synthases (PKSs) and 5 nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) grouped into nine distinct clades based on their reduction capabilities. Some of the identified PKSs genes share high similarities between species and known reference genes, suggesting the possibility of conserved biosynthesis of closely related compounds from different fungi. Fungal extracts were tested for their antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and Candida albicans. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the active constituents from two promising isolates resulted in the isolation of seven compounds: Penilumamides A, D, and E from strain F4335 and xanthomegnin, viomellein, pretrichodermamide C and vioxanthin from strain F7180. Vioxanthin exhibited the best antibacterial activity with IC50 values of 3.0 μM and 1.6 μM against S. aureus and MRSA respectively. Viomellein revealed weak antiproliferative activity against A549 cells with an IC50 of 42 μM. The results from this study give valuable insights into the diversity and biosynthetic potential of fungi from this unique habitat and forms a background for an in-depth analysis of the biosynthetic capability of selected strains of interest with the aim of discovering novel fungal natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhaiyan Munusamy
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02 Nanos, Singapore 138669, Singapore
| | - Kenneth Tan
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02 Nanos, Singapore 138669, Singapore
| | - Choy Eng Nge
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02 Nanos, Singapore 138669, Singapore
| | - Martin Muthee Gakuubi
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02 Nanos, Singapore 138669, Singapore
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore
| | - Sharon Crasta
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02 Nanos, Singapore 138669, Singapore
| | - Yoganathan Kanagasundaram
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02 Nanos, Singapore 138669, Singapore
| | - Siew Bee Ng
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02 Nanos, Singapore 138669, Singapore
- Correspondence:
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17
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Deng H, Liang X, Liu J, Zheng X, Fan TP, Cai Y. Advances and perspectives on perylenequinone biosynthesis. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1070110. [PMID: 36605511 PMCID: PMC9808054 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1070110] [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: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Under illumination, the fungal secondary metabolites, perylenequinones (PQs) react with molecular oxygen to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which, in excess can damage cellular macromolecules and trigger apoptosis. Based on this property, PQs have been widely used as photosensitizers and applied in pharmaceuticals, which has stimulated research into the discovery of new PQs and the elucidation of their biosynthetic pathways. The PQs-associated literature covering from April 1967 to September 2022 is reviewed in three sections: (1) the sources, structural diversity, and biological activities of microbial PQs; (2) elucidation of PQ biosynthetic pathways, associated genes, and mechanisms of regulation; and (3) advances in pathway engineering and future potential strategies to modify cellular metabolism and improve PQ production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaxiang Deng
- Center for Synthetic Biochemistry, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China,The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China,*Correspondence: Huaxiang Deng,
| | - Xinxin Liang
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jinbin Liu
- School of Marine and Bioengineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xiaohui Zheng
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, Shanxi, China
| | - Tai-Ping Fan
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Yujie Cai
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China,Yujie Cai,
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18
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Elhamouly NA, Hewedy OA, Zaitoon A, Miraples A, Elshorbagy OT, Hussien S, El-Tahan A, Peng D. The hidden power of secondary metabolites in plant-fungi interactions and sustainable phytoremediation. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:1044896. [PMID: 36578344 PMCID: PMC9790997 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1044896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The global environment is dominated by various small exotic substances, known as secondary metabolites, produced by plants and microorganisms. Plants and fungi are particularly plentiful sources of these molecules, whose physiological functions, in many cases, remain a mystery. Fungal secondary metabolites (SM) are a diverse group of substances that exhibit a wide range of chemical properties and generally fall into one of four main family groups: Terpenoids, polyketides, non-ribosomal peptides, or a combination of the latter two. They are incredibly varied in their functions and are often related to the increased fitness of the respective fungus in its environment, often competing with other microbes or interacting with plant species. Several of these metabolites have essential roles in the biological control of plant diseases by various beneficial microorganisms used for crop protection and biofertilization worldwide. Besides direct toxic effects against phytopathogens, natural metabolites can promote root and shoot development and/or disease resistance by activating host systemic defenses. The ability of these microorganisms to synthesize and store biologically active metabolites that are a potent source of novel natural compounds beneficial for agriculture is becoming a top priority for SM fungi research. In this review, we will discuss fungal-plant secondary metabolites with antifungal properties and the role of signaling molecules in induced and acquired systemic resistance activities. Additionally, fungal secondary metabolites mimic plant promotion molecules such as auxins, gibberellins, and abscisic acid, which modulate plant growth under biotic stress. Moreover, we will present a new trend regarding phytoremediation applications using fungal secondary metabolites to achieve sustainable food production and microbial diversity in an eco-friendly environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neveen Atta Elhamouly
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Menoufia University, Shibin El-Kom, Egypt
| | - Omar A. Hewedy
- Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Amr Zaitoon
- Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Angelica Miraples
- Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Omnia T. Elshorbagy
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Agriculture & Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Suzan Hussien
- Botany Department Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Amira El-Tahan
- Plant Production Department, Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute, the City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Borg El Arab, Alexandria, Egypt
| | - Deliang Peng
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
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19
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Case NT, Berman J, Blehert DS, Cramer RA, Cuomo C, Currie CR, Ene IV, Fisher MC, Fritz-Laylin LK, Gerstein AC, Glass NL, Gow NAR, Gurr SJ, Hittinger CT, Hohl TM, Iliev ID, James TY, Jin H, Klein BS, Kronstad JW, Lorch JM, McGovern V, Mitchell AP, Segre JA, Shapiro RS, Sheppard DC, Sil A, Stajich JE, Stukenbrock EE, Taylor JW, Thompson D, Wright GD, Heitman J, Cowen LE. The future of fungi: threats and opportunities. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2022; 12:jkac224. [PMID: 36179219 PMCID: PMC9635647 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkac224] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The fungal kingdom represents an extraordinary diversity of organisms with profound impacts across animal, plant, and ecosystem health. Fungi simultaneously support life, by forming beneficial symbioses with plants and producing life-saving medicines, and bring death, by causing devastating diseases in humans, plants, and animals. With climate change, increased antimicrobial resistance, global trade, environmental degradation, and novel viruses altering the impact of fungi on health and disease, developing new approaches is now more crucial than ever to combat the threats posed by fungi and to harness their extraordinary potential for applications in human health, food supply, and environmental remediation. To address this aim, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund convened a workshop to unite leading experts on fungal biology from academia and industry to strategize innovative solutions to global challenges and fungal threats. This report provides recommendations to accelerate fungal research and highlights the major research advances and ideas discussed at the meeting pertaining to 5 major topics: (1) Connections between fungi and climate change and ways to avert climate catastrophe; (2) Fungal threats to humans and ways to mitigate them; (3) Fungal threats to agriculture and food security and approaches to ensure a robust global food supply; (4) Fungal threats to animals and approaches to avoid species collapse and extinction; and (5) Opportunities presented by the fungal kingdom, including novel medicines and enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola T Case
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada
| | - Judith Berman
- Shmunis School of Biomedical and Cancer Research, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - David S Blehert
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI 53711, USA
| | - Robert A Cramer
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - Christina Cuomo
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Cameron R Currie
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Iuliana V Ene
- Department of Mycology, Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris, Paris 75015, France
| | - Matthew C Fisher
- MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Imperial College, London W2 1PG, UK
| | | | - Aleeza C Gerstein
- Department of Microbiology and Department of Statistics, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - N Louise Glass
- Plant and Microbial Biology Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Neil A R Gow
- Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Sarah J Gurr
- Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Chris Todd Hittinger
- Laboratory of Genetics, Center for Genomic Science Innovation, J.F. Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Wisconsin Energy Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53726, USA
| | - Tobias M Hohl
- Infectious Disease Service, Department of Medicine, and Immunology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Iliyan D Iliev
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Timothy Y James
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Hailing Jin
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Center for Plant Cell Biology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California—Riverside, Riverside, CA 92507, USA
| | - Bruce S Klein
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - James W Kronstad
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Jeffrey M Lorch
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI 53711, USA
| | | | - Aaron P Mitchell
- Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Julia A Segre
- Microbial Genomics Section, Translational and Functional Genomics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Rebecca S Shapiro
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Donald C Sheppard
- McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunology, Departments of Medicine, Microbiology & Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada
| | - Anita Sil
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA
| | - Jason E Stajich
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Center for Plant Cell Biology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California—Riverside, Riverside, CA 92507, USA
| | - Eva E Stukenbrock
- Max Planck Fellow Group Environmental Genomics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön 24306, Germany
- Environmental Genomics, Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel 24118, Germany
| | - John W Taylor
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California—Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | | | - Gerard D Wright
- M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8N 3Z5, Canada
| | - Joseph Heitman
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Medicine, and Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Leah E Cowen
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada
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20
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Noriler S, Navarro-Muñoz JC, Glienke C, Collemare J. Evolutionary relationships of adenylation domains in fungi. Genomics 2022; 114:110525. [PMID: 36423773 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2022.110525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) and NRPS-like enzymes are abundant in microbes as they are involved in the production of primary and secondary metabolites. In contrast to the well-studied NRPSs, known to produce non-ribosomal peptides, NRPS-like enzymes exhibit more diverse activities and their evolutionary relationships are unclear. Here, we present the first in-depth phylogenetic analysis of fungal NRPS-like A domains from functionally characterized pathways, and their relationships to characterized A domains found in fungal NRPSs. This study clearly differentiated amino acid reductases, including NRPSs, from CoA/AMP ligases, which could be divided into 10 distinct phylogenetic clades that reflect their conserved domain organization, substrate specificity and enzymatic activity. In particular, evolutionary relationships of adenylate forming reductases could be refined and explained the substrate specificity difference. Consistent with their phylogeny, the deduced amino acid code of A domains differentiated amino acid reductases from other enzymes. However, a diagnostic code was found for α-keto acid reductases and clade 7 CoA/AMP ligases only. Comparative genomics of loci containing these enzymes revealed that they can be independently recruited as tailoring genes in diverse secondary metabolite pathways. Based on these results, we propose a refined and clear phylogeny-based classification of A domain-containing enzymes, which will provide a robust framework for future functional analyses and engineering of these enzymes to produce new bioactive molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandriele Noriler
- Postgraduate Program of Microbiology, Parasitology and Pathology, Department of Pathology, Universidade Federal do Parana, Av. Coronel Francisco Heráclito dos Santos, 210, CEP: 81531-970, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - Jorge C Navarro-Muñoz
- Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584, CT, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Chirlei Glienke
- Postgraduate Program of Microbiology, Parasitology and Pathology, Department of Pathology, Universidade Federal do Parana, Av. Coronel Francisco Heráclito dos Santos, 210, CEP: 81531-970, Curitiba, PR, Brazil; Postgraduate Program of Genetics, Department of Genetics, Universidade Federal do Parana, Av. Coronel Francisco Heráclito dos Santos, 210, CEP: 81531-970, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - Jérôme Collemare
- Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584, CT, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
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21
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Chiang YM, Lin TS, Wang CCC. Total Heterologous Biosynthesis of Fungal Natural Products in Aspergillus nidulans. JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS 2022; 85:2484-2518. [PMID: 36173392 PMCID: PMC9621686 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.2c00487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Fungal natural products comprise a wide range of bioactive compounds including important drugs and agrochemicals. Intriguingly, bioinformatic analyses of fungal genomes have revealed that fungi have the potential to produce significantly more natural products than what have been discovered so far. It has thus become widely accepted that most biosynthesis pathways of fungal natural products are silent or expressed at very low levels under laboratory cultivation conditions. To tap into this vast chemical reservoir, the reconstitution of entire biosynthetic pathways in genetically tractable fungal hosts (total heterologous biosynthesis) has become increasingly employed in recent years. This review summarizes total heterologous biosynthesis of fungal natural products accomplished before 2020 using Aspergillus nidulans as heterologous hosts. We review here Aspergillus transformation, A. nidulans hosts, shuttle vectors for episomal expression, and chromosomal integration expression. These tools, collectively, not only facilitate the discovery of cryptic natural products but can also be used to generate high-yield strains with clean metabolite backgrounds. In comparison with total synthesis, total heterologous biosynthesis offers a simplified strategy to construct complex molecules and holds potential for commercial application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Ming Chiang
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Pharmacy, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan 71710, Taiwan
| | - Tzu-Shyang Lin
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, 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
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22
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Research Progress on Fungal Sesterterpenoids Biosynthesis. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8101080. [PMID: 36294645 PMCID: PMC9605422 DOI: 10.3390/jof8101080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2022] [Revised: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Sesterterpenes are 25-carbon terpenoids formed by the cyclization of dimethyl allyl diphosphate (DMAPP) and isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) as structural units by sesterterpenes synthases. Some (not all) sesterterpenoids are modified by cytochrome P450s (CYP450s), resulting in more intricate structures. These compounds have significant physiological activities and pharmacological effects in anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antitumour, and hypolipidemic communities. Despite being a rare class of terpenoids, sesterterpenoids derived from fungi show a wide range of structural variations. The discovered fungal sesterterpenoid synthases are composed of C-terminal prenyltransferase (PT) and N-terminal terpene synthase (TS) domains, which were given the name PTTSs. PTTSs have the capacities to catalyze chain lengthening and cyclization concurrently. This review summarizes all 52 fungal PTTSs synthases and their biosynthetic pathways involving 100 sesterterpenoids since the discovery of the first PTTSs synthase from fungi in 2013.
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23
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Berasategui A, Breitenbach N, García-Lozano M, Pons I, Sailer B, Lanz C, Rodríguez V, Hipp K, Ziemert N, Windsor D, Salem H. The leaf beetle Chelymorpha alternans propagates a plant pathogen in exchange for pupal protection. Curr Biol 2022; 32:4114-4127.e6. [PMID: 35987210 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Many insects rely on microbial protection in the early stages of their development. However, in contrast to symbiont-mediated defense of eggs and young instars, the role of microbes in safeguarding pupae remains relatively unexplored, despite the susceptibility of the immobile stage to antagonistic challenges. Here, we outline the importance of symbiosis in ensuring pupal protection by describing a mutualistic partnership between the ascomycete Fusarium oxysporum and Chelymorpha alternans, a leaf beetle. The symbiont rapidly proliferates at the onset of pupation, extensively and conspicuously coating C. alternans during metamorphosis. The fungus confers defense against predation as symbiont elimination results in reduced pupal survivorship. In exchange, eclosing beetles vector F. oxysporum to their host plants, resulting in a systemic infection. By causing wilt disease, the fungus retained its phytopathogenic capacity in light of its symbiosis with C. alternans. Despite possessing a relatively reduced genome, F. oxysporum encodes metabolic pathways that reflect its dual lifestyle as a plant pathogen and a defensive insect symbiont. These include virulence factors underlying plant colonization, along with mycotoxins that may contribute to the defensive biochemistry of the insect host. Collectively, our findings shed light on a mutualism predicated on pupal protection of an herbivorous beetle in exchange for symbiont dissemination and propagation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aileen Berasategui
- Max Planck Institute for Biology, Mutualisms Research Group, Max-Planck-Ring 5, Tübingen 72076, Germany; University of Tübingen, Cluster of Excellence 'Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections', Auf der Morgenstelle 28, Tübingen 72076, Germany.
| | - Noa Breitenbach
- Max Planck Institute for Biology, Mutualisms Research Group, Max-Planck-Ring 5, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Marleny García-Lozano
- Max Planck Institute for Biology, Mutualisms Research Group, Max-Planck-Ring 5, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Inès Pons
- Max Planck Institute for Biology, Mutualisms Research Group, Max-Planck-Ring 5, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Brigitte Sailer
- Max Planck Institute for Biology, Electron Microscopy Facility, Max-Planck-Ring 5, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Christa Lanz
- Max Planck Institute for Biology, Genome Center, Max-Planck-Ring 5, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Viterbo Rodríguez
- Centro Regional Universitario de Veraguas, Centro de Capacitación, Investigación y Monitoreo de la Biodiversidad en Coiba, Calle Décima, vía San Francisco, Santiago 08001, Republic of Panama
| | - Katharina Hipp
- Max Planck Institute for Biology, Electron Microscopy Facility, Max-Planck-Ring 5, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Nadine Ziemert
- University of Tübingen, Cluster of Excellence 'Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections', Auf der Morgenstelle 28, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Donald Windsor
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Luis Clement Avenue, Bldg. 401 Tupper, Panama City 0843-03092, Republic of Panama
| | - Hassan Salem
- Max Planck Institute for Biology, Mutualisms Research Group, Max-Planck-Ring 5, Tübingen 72076, Germany.
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24
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Guo L, Yao H, Chen W, Wang X, Ye P, Xu Z, Zhang S, Wu H. Natural products of medicinal plants: biosynthesis and bioengineering in post-genomic era. HORTICULTURE RESEARCH 2022; 9:uhac223. [PMID: 36479585 PMCID: PMC9720450 DOI: 10.1093/hr/uhac223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Globally, medicinal plant natural products (PNPs) are a major source of substances used in traditional and modern medicine. As we human race face the tremendous public health challenge posed by emerging infectious diseases, antibiotic resistance and surging drug prices etc., harnessing the healing power of medicinal plants gifted from mother nature is more urgent than ever in helping us survive future challenge in a sustainable way. PNP research efforts in the pre-genomic era focus on discovering bioactive molecules with pharmaceutical activities, and identifying individual genes responsible for biosynthesis. Critically, systemic biological, multi- and inter-disciplinary approaches integrating and interrogating all accessible data from genomics, metabolomics, structural biology, and chemical informatics are necessary to accelerate the full characterization of biosynthetic and regulatory circuitry for producing PNPs in medicinal plants. In this review, we attempt to provide a brief update on the current research of PNPs in medicinal plants by focusing on how different state-of-the-art biotechnologies facilitate their discovery, the molecular basis of their biosynthesis, as well as synthetic biology. Finally, we humbly provide a foresight of the research trend for understanding the biology of medicinal plants in the coming decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Guo
- Corresponding authors. E-mails: ;
| | | | | | - Xumei Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710061, China
| | - Peng Ye
- State Key laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangdong Laboratory For Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Zhichao Xu
- College of Life Science, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
| | - Sisheng Zhang
- State Key laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangdong Laboratory For Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Hong Wu
- Corresponding authors. E-mails: ;
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25
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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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26
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Rivera-Chávez J, Ceapă CD, Figueroa M. Biological Dark Matter Exploration using Data Mining for the Discovery of Antimicrobial Natural Products. PLANTA MEDICA 2022; 88:702-720. [PMID: 35697058 DOI: 10.1055/a-1795-0562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The discovery of novel antimicrobials has significantly slowed down over the last three decades. At the same time, humans rely increasingly on antimicrobials because of the progressive antimicrobial resistance in medical practices, human communities, and the environment. Data mining is currently considered a promising option in the discovery of new antibiotics. Some of the advantages of data mining are the ability to predict chemical structures from sequence data, anticipation of the presence of novel metabolites, the understanding of gene evolution, and the corroboration of data from multiple omics technologies. This review analyzes the state-of-the-art for data mining in the fields of bacteria, fungi, and plant genomic data, as well as metabologenomics. It also summarizes some of the most recent research accomplishments in the field, all pinpointing to innovation through uncovering and implementing the next generation of antimicrobials.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Rivera-Chávez
- Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Corina-Diana Ceapă
- Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Mario Figueroa
- Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
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27
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Mózsik L, Iacovelli R, Bovenberg RAL, Driessen AJM. Transcriptional Activation of Biosynthetic Gene Clusters in Filamentous Fungi. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:901037. [PMID: 35910033 PMCID: PMC9335490 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.901037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Filamentous fungi are highly productive cell factories, many of which are industrial producers of enzymes, organic acids, and secondary metabolites. The increasing number of sequenced fungal genomes revealed a vast and unexplored biosynthetic potential in the form of transcriptionally silent secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). Various strategies have been carried out to explore and mine this untapped source of bioactive molecules, and with the advent of synthetic biology, novel applications, and tools have been developed for filamentous fungi. Here we summarize approaches aiming for the expression of endogenous or exogenous natural product BGCs, including synthetic transcription factors, assembly of artificial transcription units, gene cluster refactoring, fungal shuttle vectors, and platform strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- László Mózsik
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Riccardo Iacovelli
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Roel A. L. Bovenberg
- DSM Biotechnology Center, Delft, Netherlands
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Cell Engineering, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Arnold J. M. Driessen
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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28
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Examination of Genome-Wide Ortholog Variation in Clinical and Environmental Isolates of the Fungal Pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. mBio 2022; 13:e0151922. [PMID: 35766381 PMCID: PMC9426589 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01519-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Aspergillus fumigatus is both an environmental saprobe and an opportunistic human fungal pathogen. Knowledge of genomic variation across A. fumigatus isolates is essential for understanding the evolution of pathogenicity, virulence, and resistance to antifungal drugs. Here, we investigated 206 A. fumigatus isolates (133 clinical and 73 environmental isolates), aiming to identify genes with variable presence across isolates and test whether this variation was related to the clinical or environmental origin of isolates. The PanOrtho genome of A. fumigatus consists of 13,085 ortholog groups, of which 7,773 (59.4%) are shared by all isolates (core groups) and 5,312 (40.6%) vary in their gene presence across isolates (accessory groups plus singletons). Despite differences in the distribution of orthologs across all isolates, no significant differences were observed among clinical versus environmental isolates when phylogeny was accounted for. Orthologs that differ in their distribution across isolates tend to occur at low frequency and/or be restricted to specific isolates; thus, the degree of genomic conservation between orthologs of A. fumigatus is high. These results suggest that differences in the distribution of orthologs within A. fumigatus cannot be associated with the clinical or environmental origin of isolates. IMPORTANCE Aspergillus fumigatus is a cosmopolitan species of fungus responsible for thousands of cases of invasive disease annually. Clinical and environmental isolates of A. fumigatus exhibit extensive phenotypic differences, including differences related to virulence and antifungal drug resistance. A comprehensive survey of the genomic diversity present in A. fumigatus and its relationship to the clinical or environmental origin of isolates can contribute to the prediction of the mechanisms of evolution and infection of the species. Our results suggest that there is no significant variation in ortholog distribution between clinical and environmental isolates when accounting for evolutionary history. The work supports the hypothesis that environmental and clinical isolates of A. fumigatus do not differ in their gene contents.
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29
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Fan Y, Ma Z, Zhang Y, Wang Y, Ding Y, Wang C, Cao S. Sulfur-Containing Compounds from Endophytic Fungi: Sources, Structures and Bioactivities. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8060628. [PMID: 35736111 PMCID: PMC9224594 DOI: 10.3390/jof8060628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Endophytic fungi have attracted increasing attention as an under-explored source for the discovery and development of structurally and functionally diverse secondary metabolites. These microorganisms colonize their hosts, primarily plants, and demonstrate diverse ecological distribution. Among endophytic fungal natural products, sulfur-containing compounds feature one or more sulfur atoms and possess a range of bioactivities, e.g., cytotoxicity and antimicrobial activities. These natural products mainly belong to the classes of polyketides, nonribosomal peptides, terpenoids, and hybrids. Here, we reviewed the fungal producers, plant sources, chemical structures, and bioactivities of 143 new sulfur-containing compounds that were reported from 1985 to March 2022.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaqin Fan
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Mycology, School of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China; (Y.F.); (Z.M.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Zhiheng Ma
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Mycology, School of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China; (Y.F.); (Z.M.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Yan Zhang
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Mycology, School of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China; (Y.F.); (Z.M.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Yufei Wang
- Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Engineering of Forest Products, State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Guangxi Collaborative Innovation Center for Chemistry and Engineering of Forest Products, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi Minzu University, Nanning 530006, China;
| | - Yousong Ding
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA;
| | - Cong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Engineering of Forest Products, State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Guangxi Collaborative Innovation Center for Chemistry and Engineering of Forest Products, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi Minzu University, Nanning 530006, China;
- Correspondence: (C.W.); (S.C.)
| | - Shugeng Cao
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, University of Hawai’i at Hilo, 200 W. Kawili St., Hilo, HI 96720, USA
- Correspondence: (C.W.); (S.C.)
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30
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Recent Advances in the Heterologous Expression of Biosynthetic Gene Clusters for Marine Natural Products. Mar Drugs 2022; 20:md20060341. [PMID: 35736144 PMCID: PMC9225448 DOI: 10.3390/md20060341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Marine natural products (MNPs) are an important source of biologically active metabolites, particularly for therapeutic agent development after terrestrial plants and nonmarine microorganisms. Sequencing technologies have revealed that the number of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in marine microorganisms and the marine environment is much higher than expected. Unfortunately, the majority of them are silent or only weakly expressed under traditional laboratory culture conditions. Furthermore, the large proportion of marine microorganisms are either uncultivable or cannot be genetically manipulated. Efficient heterologous expression systems can activate cryptic BGCs and increase target compound yield, allowing researchers to explore more unknown MNPs. When developing heterologous expression of MNPs, it is critical to consider heterologous host selection as well as genetic manipulations for BGCs. In this review, we summarize current progress on the heterologous expression of MNPs as a reference for future research.
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31
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Homma Y, Sugawara A, Morishita Y, Tsukada K, Ozaki T, Asai T. Discovery of a Cyclic Depsipeptide from Chaetomium mollipilium by the Genome Mining Approach. Org Lett 2022; 24:3504-3509. [PMID: 35543719 DOI: 10.1021/acs.orglett.2c01172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Genome mining and bioinformatics analyses allowed us to rationally find a candidate biosynthetic gene cluster for a new cyclic depsipeptide of Chaetomium mollipilium. A heterologous reconstitution of the identified biosynthetic pathway predictably afforded a new cyclic depsipeptide composed of l-leucine, l-tryptophan, and a polyketide moiety. Interestingly, the 10-membered macrocycle structure generated equilibrium to an unprecedented cyclol structure. This study demonstrates the advantage of a synthetic biology method in achieving rational access to new natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuto Homma
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
| | - Akihiro Sugawara
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
| | - Yohei Morishita
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
| | - Kento Tsukada
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
| | - Taro Ozaki
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
| | - Teigo Asai
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
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Abstract
Contamination of food and feed with toxin-producing fungi is a major threat in agriculture and for human health. The filamentous fungus Alternaria alternata is one of the most widespread postharvest contaminants and a weak plant pathogen. It produces a large variety of secondary metabolites with alternariol and its derivatives as characteristic mycotoxin. Other important phyto- and mycotoxins are perylene quinones (PQs), some of which have anticancer properties. Here, we discovered that the PQ altertoxin (ATX) biosynthesis shares most enzymes with the 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene (1,8-DHN) melanin pathway. However, melanin was formed in aerial hyphae and spores, and ATXs were synthesized in substrate hyphae. This spatial separation is achieved through the promiscuity of a polyketide synthase, presumably producing a pentaketide (T4HN), a hexaketide (AT4HN), and a heptaketide (YWA1) as products. T4HN directly enters the altertoxin and DHN melanin pathway, whereas AT4HN and YWA1 can be converted only in aerial hyphae, which probably leads to a higher T4HN concentration, favoring 1,8-DHN melanin formation. Whereas the production of ATXs was strictly dependent on the CmrA transcription factor, melanin could still be produced in the absence of CmrA to some extent. This suggests that different cues regulate melanin and toxin formation. Since DHN melanin is produced by many fungi, PQs or related compounds may be produced in many more fungi than so far assumed.
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34
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Zeng X, Zheng J, Lu F, Pan L, Wang B. Heterologous Synthesis of Monacolin J by Reconstructing Its Biosynthetic Gene Cluster in Aspergillus niger. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8040407. [PMID: 35448638 PMCID: PMC9032219 DOI: 10.3390/jof8040407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Revised: 04/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Monacolin J (MJ), a key precursor of Lovastatin, could synthesize important statin drug simvastatin by hydrolyzing lovastatin and adding different side chains. In this study, to reduce the cumbersome hydrolysis of lovastatin to produce MJ in the native strain Aspergillus terreus, the MJ biosynthetic pathway genes (lovB, lovC, lovG, and lovA) were heterologously integrated into the genome of Aspergillus. niger CBS513.88 with strong promoters and suitable integration sites, via yeast 2μ homologous recombination to construct expression cassettes of long-length genes and CRISPR/Cas9 homology-directed recombination (CRISPR-HDR) to integrate MJ genes in the genome of A. niger. RT-PCR results proved that pathway synthesis-related genes could be heterologously expressed in A. niger. Finally, we constructed an engineered strain that could produce monacolin J, detected by LC-HR-ESIMS (MJ, 339.22 [M-H]+). The yield of MJ reached 92.90 mg/L after 7-day cultivation. By optimizing the cultivation conditions and adding precursor, the final titer of MJ was 142.61 mg/L on the fourth day of fed-batch cultivation, which was increased by 53.5% compared to the original growth conditions. Due to the wide application of A. niger in industrial fermentation for food and medicine, the following work will be dedicated to optimizing the metabolic network to improve the MJ production in the engineered strain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xu Zeng
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Panyu Town, Guangzhou 510006, China; (X.Z.); (J.Z.); (F.L.)
| | - Junwei Zheng
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Panyu Town, Guangzhou 510006, China; (X.Z.); (J.Z.); (F.L.)
| | - Feifei Lu
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Panyu Town, Guangzhou 510006, China; (X.Z.); (J.Z.); (F.L.)
| | - Li Pan
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Panyu Town, Guangzhou 510006, China; (X.Z.); (J.Z.); (F.L.)
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Correspondence: (L.P.); (B.W.)
| | - Bin Wang
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Panyu Town, Guangzhou 510006, China; (X.Z.); (J.Z.); (F.L.)
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Correspondence: (L.P.); (B.W.)
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35
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Roux I, Chooi YH. Cre/ lox-Mediated Chromosomal Integration of Biosynthetic Gene Clusters for Heterologous Expression in Aspergillus nidulans. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:1186-1195. [PMID: 35168324 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Building strains of filamentous fungi for stable long-term heterologous expression of large biosynthetic pathways is limited by the low transformation efficiency or genetic stability of current methods. Here, we developed a system for targeted chromosomal integration of large biosynthetic gene clusters in Aspergillus nidulans based on site-specific recombinase-mediated cassette exchange. We built A. nidulans strains harboring a chromosomal landing pad for Cre/lox-mediated recombination and demonstrated efficient targeted integration of a 21 kb DNA fragment in a single step. We further evaluated the integration at two loci by analyzing the expression of a fluorescent reporter and the production of a heterologous polyketide metabolite. We compared chromosomal expression at those landing loci to episomal AMA1-based expression, which also shed light on uncharacterized aspects of episomal expression in filamentous fungi. This is the first demonstration of site-specific recombinase-mediated integration in filamentous fungi, setting the foundations for the further development of this tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indra Roux
- School of Molecular Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Yit-Heng Chooi
- School of Molecular Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
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36
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Xu G, Zhang L, Liu X, Guan F, Xu Y, Yue H, Huang JQ, Chen J, Wu N, Tian J. Combined assembly of long and short sequencing reads improve the efficiency of exploring the soil metagenome. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:37. [PMID: 34996356 PMCID: PMC8742384 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-08260-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Advances in DNA sequencing technologies have transformed our capacity to perform life science research, decipher the dynamics of complex soil microbial communities and exploit them for plant disease management. However, soil is a complex conglomerate, which makes functional metagenomics studies very challenging. Results Metagenomes were assembled by long-read (PacBio, PB), short-read (Illumina, IL), and mixture of PB and IL (PI) sequencing of soil DNA samples were compared. Ortholog analyses and functional annotation revealed that the PI approach significantly increased the contig length of the metagenomic sequences compared to IL and enlarged the gene pool compared to PB. The PI approach also offered comparable or higher species abundance than either PB or IL alone, and showed significant advantages for studying natural product biosynthetic genes in the soil microbiomes. Conclusion Our results provide an effective strategy for combining long and short-read DNA sequencing data to explore and distill the maximum information out of soil metagenomics. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-08260-3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guoshun Xu
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No.12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Liwen Zhang
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No.12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China.
| | - Xiaoqing Liu
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No.12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Feifei Guan
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No.12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuquan Xu
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No.12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Haitao Yue
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Xinjiang University, 666 Shengli Road, Urumqi, 830046, People's Republic of China
| | - Jin-Qun Huang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Jieyin Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China.
| | - Ningfeng Wu
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No.12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Jian Tian
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No.12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China.
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37
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Roux I, Chooi YH. Heterologous Expression of Fungal Biosynthetic Pathways in Aspergillus nidulans Using Episomal Vectors. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2489:75-92. [PMID: 35524046 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2273-5_5] [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: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Filamentous fungi produce a wide diversity of secondary metabolites, whose biosynthesis is encoded in biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). As novel BGCs are often found in fungal species that are genetically intractable or difficult to cultivate, heterologous expression is increasingly being used for compound discovery. In addition, heterologous expression is a useful strategy to elucidate the function of the genes within a BGC and shed light on their enzymatic mechanisms. Here, we describe a method for BGC elucidation using multi-marker AMA1-based pYFAC vectors for episomal expression in the fungal host Aspergillus nidulans. The pYFAC vectors have the advantage of high transformation efficiency and support high compound production. In addition, different pathway intermediates can be easily evaluated by testing different vector combinations. This protocol encompasses different AMA1-based strategies for BGC expression such as cloning of a BGC native sequence, promoter exchange or transcription factor overexpression. We also describe procedures for A. nidulans protoplasting, transformation, and small-scale culture analysis of strains containing AMA1 vectors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indra Roux
- School of Molecular Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Yit Heng Chooi
- School of Molecular Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
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38
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Ye D, Li X, Shen J, Xia X. Microbial metabolomics: From novel technologies to diversified applications. Trends Analyt Chem 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2022.116540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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39
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Nielsen MR, Sørensen JL. Investigating Fungal Biosynthetic Pathways Using Heterologous Gene Expression: Fusarium sp. as a Heterologous Host. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2489:53-74. [PMID: 35524045 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2273-5_4] [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: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Heterologous expression of uncharacterized biosynthetic gene clusters is a popular strategy for exploring the chemical potential of filamentous fungi. Here, we describe the process of PCR-amplifying fungal gene clusters and re-assembling them in a cloning vector via target-associated recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae . The gene cluster-carrying construct is validated and used to transform protoplasts of Fusarium graminearum , a well-studied host that is able to express the gene cluster. Chemical analysis of transformants expressing biosynthetic genes can lead to the detection and isolation of novel compounds, such as polyketides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikkel Rank Nielsen
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University Esbjerg, Esbjerg, Denmark.
| | - Jens Laurids Sørensen
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University Esbjerg, Esbjerg, Denmark
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40
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Papon N, Copp BR, Courdavault V. Marine drugs: Biology, pipelines, current and future prospects for production. Biotechnol Adv 2021; 54:107871. [PMID: 34801661 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2021.107871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The marine environment is a huge reservoir of biodiversity and represents an excellent source of chemical compounds, some of which have large economical values. In the urgent quest for new pharmaceuticals, marine-based drug discovery has progressed significantly over the past several decades and we now benefit from a series of approved marine natural products (MNPs) to treat cancer and pain while an additional collection of promising leads are in clinical trials. However, the discovery and supply of MNPs has always been challenging given their low bioavailability and structural complexity. Their manufacture for pre-clinical and clinical development but also commercialization mainly relies upon marine source extraction and chemical synthesis, which are associated with high costs, unsustainability and severe environmental problems. In this review, we discuss how metabolic engineering now raises reasonable expectations for the implementation of microbial cell factories, which may provide a sustainable approach for MNP-based drug supply in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Papon
- Univ. Angers, Univ. Brest, GEIHP, SFR ICAT, F-49000 Angers, France.
| | - Brent R Copp
- School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand.
| | - Vincent Courdavault
- Université de Tours, EA2106 Biomolécules et Biotechnologies Végétales, Tours, France.
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41
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Caesar LK, Montaser R, Keller NP, Kelleher NL. Metabolomics and genomics in natural products research: complementary tools for targeting new chemical entities. Nat Prod Rep 2021; 38:2041-2065. [PMID: 34787623 PMCID: PMC8691422 DOI: 10.1039/d1np00036e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Covering: 2010 to 2021Organisms in nature have evolved into proficient synthetic chemists, utilizing specialized enzymatic machinery to biosynthesize an inspiring diversity of secondary metabolites. Often serving to boost competitive advantage for their producers, these secondary metabolites have widespread human impacts as antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and antifungal drugs. The natural products discovery field has begun a shift away from traditional activity-guided approaches and is beginning to take advantage of increasingly available metabolomics and genomics datasets to explore undiscovered chemical space. Major strides have been made and now enable -omics-informed prioritization of chemical structures for discovery, including the prospect of confidently linking metabolites to their biosynthetic pathways. Over the last decade, more integrated strategies now provide researchers with pipelines for simultaneous identification of expressed secondary metabolites and their biosynthetic machinery. However, continuous collaboration by the natural products community will be required to optimize strategies for effective evaluation of natural product biosynthetic gene clusters to accelerate discovery efforts. Here, we provide an evaluative guide to scientific literature as it relates to studying natural product biosynthesis using genomics, metabolomics, and their integrated datasets. Particular emphasis is placed on the unique insights that can be gained from large-scale integrated strategies, and we provide source organism-specific considerations to evaluate the gaps in our current knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay K Caesar
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
| | - Rana Montaser
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
| | - Nancy P Keller
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology and Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Neil L Kelleher
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
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42
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Meng X, Fang Y, Ding M, Zhang Y, Jia K, Li Z, Collemare J, Liu W. Developing fungal heterologous expression platforms to explore and improve the production of natural products from fungal biodiversity. Biotechnol Adv 2021; 54:107866. [PMID: 34780934 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2021.107866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Revised: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Natural products from fungi represent an important source of biologically active metabolites notably for therapeutic agent development. Genome sequencing revealed that the number of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in fungi is much larger than expected. Unfortunately, most of them are silent or barely expressed under laboratory culture conditions. Moreover, many fungi in nature are uncultivable or cannot be genetically manipulated, restricting the extraction and identification of bioactive metabolites from these species. Rapid exploration of the tremendous number of cryptic fungal BGCs necessitates the development of heterologous expression platforms, which will facilitate the efficient production of natural products in fungal cell factories. Host selection, BGC assembly methods, promoters used for heterologous gene expression, metabolic engineering strategies and compartmentalization of biosynthetic pathways are key aspects for consideration to develop such a microbial platform. In the present review, we summarize current progress on the above challenges to promote research effort in the relevant fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangfeng Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Microbial Technology Institute, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, PR China
| | - Yu Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Microbial Technology Institute, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, PR China
| | - Mingyang Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Microbial Technology Institute, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, PR China
| | - Yanyu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Microbial Technology Institute, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, PR China
| | - Kaili Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Microbial Technology Institute, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, PR China
| | - Zhongye Li
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Microbial Technology Institute, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, PR China
| | - Jérôme Collemare
- Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands.
| | - Weifeng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Microbial Technology Institute, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, PR China.
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43
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Takino J, Kotani A, Ozaki T, Peng W, Yu J, Guo Y, Mochizuki S, Akimitsu K, Hashimoto M, Ye T, Minami A, Oikawa H. Biochemistry-Guided Prediction of the Absolute Configuration of Fungal Reduced Polyketides. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021; 60:23403-23411. [PMID: 34448341 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202110658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Highly reducing polyketide synthases (HR-PKSs) produce structurally diverse polyketides (PKs). The PK diversity is constructed by a variety of factors, including the β-keto processing, chain length, methylation pattern, and relative and absolute configurations of the substituents. We examined the stereochemical course of the PK processing for the synthesis of polyhydroxy PKs such as phialotides, phomenoic acid, and ACR-toxin. Heterologous expression of a HR-PKS gene, a trans-acting enoylreductase gene, and a truncated non-ribosomal peptide synthetase gene resulted in the formation of a linear PK with multiple stereogenic centers. The absolute configurations of the stereogenic centers were determined by chemical degradation followed by comparison of the degradation products with synthetic standards. A stereochemical rule was proposed to explain the absolute configurations of other reduced PKs and highlights an error in the absolute configurations of a reported structure. The present work demonstrates that focused functional analysis of functionally related HR-PKSs leads to a better understanding of the stereochemical course.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junya Takino
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan
| | - Akari Kotani
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan
| | - Taro Ozaki
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan
| | - Wenquan Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Xili, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Jie Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Xili, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, 518055, China.,School of Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Wuyi University, Jiangmen, 529020, China
| | - Yian Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Xili, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, 518055, China.,School of Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Wuyi University, Jiangmen, 529020, China
| | - Susumu Mochizuki
- International Institute of Rare Sugar Research and Education & Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Kagawa, 761-0795, Japan
| | - Kazuya Akimitsu
- International Institute of Rare Sugar Research and Education & Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Kagawa, 761-0795, Japan
| | - Masaru Hashimoto
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, 036-8561, Japan
| | - Tao Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Xili, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Atsushi Minami
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan
| | - Hideaki Oikawa
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan
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44
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Takino J, Kotani A, Ozaki T, Peng W, Yu J, Guo Y, Mochizuki S, Akimitsu K, Hashimoto M, Ye T, Minami A, Oikawa H. Biochemistry‐Guided Prediction of the Absolute Configuration of Fungal Reduced Polyketides. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202110658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Junya Takino
- Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science Hokkaido University Sapporo 060-0810 Japan
| | - Akari Kotani
- Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science Hokkaido University Sapporo 060-0810 Japan
| | - Taro Ozaki
- Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science Hokkaido University Sapporo 060-0810 Japan
| | - Wenquan Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School Xili, Nanshan District Shenzhen 518055 China
| | - Jie Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School Xili, Nanshan District Shenzhen 518055 China
- School of Biotechnology and Health Sciences Wuyi University Jiangmen 529020 China
| | - Yian Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School Xili, Nanshan District Shenzhen 518055 China
- School of Biotechnology and Health Sciences Wuyi University Jiangmen 529020 China
| | - Susumu Mochizuki
- International Institute of Rare Sugar Research and Education & Faculty of Agriculture Kagawa University Kagawa 761-0795 Japan
| | - Kazuya Akimitsu
- International Institute of Rare Sugar Research and Education & Faculty of Agriculture Kagawa University Kagawa 761-0795 Japan
| | - Masaru Hashimoto
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science Hirosaki University Hirosaki 036-8561 Japan
| | - Tao Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School Xili, Nanshan District Shenzhen 518055 China
| | - Atsushi Minami
- Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science Hokkaido University Sapporo 060-0810 Japan
| | - Hideaki Oikawa
- Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science Hokkaido University Sapporo 060-0810 Japan
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45
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Zhang L, Yue Q, Wang C, Xu Y, Molnár I. Secondary metabolites from hypocrealean entomopathogenic fungi: genomics as a tool to elucidate the encoded parvome. Nat Prod Rep 2021; 37:1164-1180. [PMID: 32211677 DOI: 10.1039/d0np00007h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Covering: 2014 up to the third quarter of 2019 Hypocrealean entomopathogenic fungi (HEF) produce a large variety of secondary metabolites (SMs) that are prominent virulence factors or mediate various interactions in the native niches of these organisms. Many of these SMs show insecticidal, immune system modulatory, antimicrobial, cytotoxic and other bioactivities of clinical or agricultural significance. Recent advances in whole genome sequencing technologies and bioinformatics have revealed many biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) potentially involved in SM production in HEF. Some of these BGCs are now well characterized, with the structures of the cognate product congeners elucidated, and the proposed biosynthetic functions of key enzymes validated. However, the vast majority of HEF BGCs are still not linked to SM products ("orphan" BGCs), including many clusters that are not expressed (silent) under routine laboratory conditions. Thus, investigations into the encoded parvome (the secondary metabolome predicted from the genome) of HEF allows the discovery of BGCs for known SMs; uncovers novel metabolites based on the BGCs; and catalogues the predicted SM biosynthetic potential of these fungi. Herein, we summarize new developments of the field, and survey the polyketide, nonribosomal peptide, terpenoid and hybrid SM BGCs encoded in the currently available 40 HEF genome sequences. Studying the encoded parvome of HEF will increase our understanding of the multifaceted roles that SMs play in biotic and abiotic interactions and will also reveal biologically active SMs that can be exploited for the discovery of human and veterinary drugs or crop protection agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liwen Zhang
- Biotechnology Research Institute, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing 100081, P. R. China.
| | - Qun Yue
- Biotechnology Research Institute, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing 100081, P. R. China.
| | - Chen Wang
- Biotechnology Research Institute, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing 100081, P. R. China.
| | - Yuquan Xu
- Biotechnology Research Institute, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing 100081, P. R. China.
| | - István Molnár
- Southwest Center for Natural Products Research, University of Arizona, 250 E. Valencia Rd., Tucson, AZ 85706, USA.
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46
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De novo biosynthesis and gram-level production of m-cresol in Aspergillus nidulans. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2021; 105:6333-6343. [PMID: 34423409 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-021-11490-w] [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: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The industrially important meta-cresol (m-cresol, 3-methylphenol) is mainly produced from fossil resources by chemical methods. The microbial production of m-cresol was rarely investigated. Herein, we constructed a platform for the overproduction of m-cresol in a modified fungus Aspergillus nidulans FGSC no. A1145∆ST∆EM, which gave a gram-level titer using starch as carbon resource. For the biosynthesis of m-cresol, the 6-methyl salicylic acid synthase (MSAS)-encoding gene patK and 6-methyl salicylic acid decarboxylase-encoding gene patG from A. clavatus were co-expressed in the host A. nidulans. Multiple strategies, including promotor engineering, gene multiplication, and fed-batch fermentation, were applied to raise the production of m-cresol, which resulted in the titers of 1.29 g/L in shaking flasks and 2.03 g/L in fed-batch culture. The chassis cell A. nidulans A1145∆ST∆EM was proved to possess better tolerance to m-cresol than yeast, as it could grow in the liquid medium containing up to 2.5 g/L of m-cresol. These results showed that A. nidulans has great potential to be further engineered for industrial production of m-cresol.Key points• m-Cresol was de novo biosynthesized by a fungal chassis cell Aspergillus nidulans.• Promoter engineering and gene multiplication implemented the fine-tuned genes expression.• The titer of m-cresol reached 2.03 g/L via fed-batch culture.
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47
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Little RF, Hertweck C. Chain release mechanisms in polyketide and non-ribosomal peptide biosynthesis. Nat Prod Rep 2021; 39:163-205. [PMID: 34622896 DOI: 10.1039/d1np00035g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Review covering up to mid-2021The structure of polyketide and non-ribosomal peptide natural products is strongly influenced by how they are released from their biosynthetic enzymes. As such, Nature has evolved a diverse range of release mechanisms, leading to the formation of bioactive chemical scaffolds such as lactones, lactams, diketopiperazines, and tetronates. Here, we review the enzymes and mechanisms used for chain release in polyketide and non-ribosomal peptide biosynthesis, how these mechanisms affect natural product structure, and how they could be utilised to introduce structural diversity into the products of engineered biosynthetic pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rory F Little
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, HKI, Germany.
| | - Christian Hertweck
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, HKI, Germany.
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48
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Al-Salihi SAA, Alberti F. Naturally Occurring Terpenes: A Promising Class of Organic Molecules to Address Influenza Pandemics. NATURAL PRODUCTS AND BIOPROSPECTING 2021; 11:405-419. [PMID: 33939136 PMCID: PMC8090910 DOI: 10.1007/s13659-021-00306-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Since the olden times, infectious diseases have largely affected human existence. The newly emerged infections are excessively caused by viruses that are largely associated with mammal reservoirs. The casualties of these emergencies are significantly influenced by the way human beings interact with the reservoirs, especially the animal ones. In our review we will consider the evolutionary and the ecological scales of such infections and their consequences on the public health, with a focus on the pathogenic influenza A virus. The nutraceutical properties of fungal and plant terpene-like molecules will be linked to their ability to lessen the symptoms of viral infections and shed light on their potential use in the development of new drugs. New challenging methods in antiviral discovery will also be discussed in this review. The authors believe that pharmacognosy is the "wave of future pharmaceuticals", as it can be continually produced and scaled up under eco-friendly requirements. Further diagnostic methods and strategies however are required to standardise those naturally occurring resources.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fabrizio Alberti
- School of Life Sciences and Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.
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49
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Wang W, Zheng G, Lu Y. Recent Advances in Strategies for the Cloning of Natural Product Biosynthetic Gene Clusters. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2021; 9:692797. [PMID: 34327194 PMCID: PMC8314000 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.692797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial natural products (NPs) are a major source of pharmacological agents. Most NPs are synthesized from specific biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). With the rapid increase of sequenced microbial genomes, large numbers of NP BGCs have been discovered, regarded as a treasure trove of novel bioactive compounds. However, many NP BGCs are silent in native hosts under laboratory conditions. In order to explore their therapeutic potential, a main route is to activate these silent NP BGCs in heterologous hosts. To this end, the first step is to accurately and efficiently capture these BGCs. In the past decades, a large number of effective technologies for cloning NP BGCs have been established, which has greatly promoted drug discovery research. Herein, we describe recent advances in strategies for BGC cloning, with a focus on the preparation of high-molecular-weight DNA fragment, selection and optimization of vectors used for carrying large-size DNA, and methods for assembling targeted DNA fragment and appropriate vector. The future direction into novel, universal, and high-efficiency methods for cloning NP BGCs is also prospected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenfang Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Guosong Zheng
- College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yinhua Lu
- College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Plant Germplasm Resources, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
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50
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Schalk F, Fricke J, Um S, Conlon BH, Maus H, Jäger N, Heinzel T, Schirmeister T, Poulsen M, Beemelmanns C. GNPS-guided discovery of xylacremolide C and D, evaluation of their putative biosynthetic origin and bioactivity studies of xylacremolide A and B. RSC Adv 2021; 11:18748-18756. [PMID: 34046176 PMCID: PMC8142242 DOI: 10.1039/d1ra00997d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Targeted HRMS2-GNPS-based metabolomic analysis of Pseudoxylaria sp. X187, a fungal antagonist of the fungus-growing termite symbiosis, resulted in the identification of two lipopeptidic congeners of xylacremolides, named xylacremolide C and D, which are built from d-phenylalanine, l-proline and an acetyl-CoA starter unit elongated by four malonyl-CoA derived ketide units. The putative xya gene cluster was identified from a draft genome generated by Illumina and PacBio sequencing and RNAseq studies. Biological activities of xylacremolide A and B were evaluated and revealed weak histone deacetylase inhibitory (HDACi) and antifungal activities, as well as moderate protease inhibition activity across a panel of nine human, viral and bacterial proteases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Schalk
- Chemical Biology of Microbe-Host Interactions, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI) Beutenbergstraße 11a 07745 Jena Germany
| | - Janis Fricke
- Chemical Biology of Microbe-Host Interactions, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI) Beutenbergstraße 11a 07745 Jena Germany
| | - Soohyun Um
- Chemical Biology of Microbe-Host Interactions, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI) Beutenbergstraße 11a 07745 Jena Germany
| | - Benjamin H Conlon
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen Universitetsparken 15 2100 Copenhagen East Denmark
| | - Hannah Maus
- Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz Staudingerweg 5 55128 Mainz Germany
| | - Nils Jäger
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Center for Molecular Biomedicine (CMB), Department of Biochemistry, Friedrich Schiller University Jena Hans-Knöll-Straße 2 07745 Jena Germany
| | - Thorsten Heinzel
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Center for Molecular Biomedicine (CMB), Department of Biochemistry, Friedrich Schiller University Jena Hans-Knöll-Straße 2 07745 Jena Germany
| | - Tanja Schirmeister
- Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz Staudingerweg 5 55128 Mainz Germany
| | - Michael Poulsen
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen Universitetsparken 15 2100 Copenhagen East Denmark
| | - Christine Beemelmanns
- Chemical Biology of Microbe-Host Interactions, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI) Beutenbergstraße 11a 07745 Jena Germany
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