Gene fusion and functional diversification of P450 genes facilitate thermophilic fungal adaptation to temperature change

The Essence of Nature Can be the Simplest (2)-Self-Inhibition Boundary: Keeping Away From Extracellular Fenton Reactions

The formation of boundaries, or inhibition zones, between neighboring colonies is a prevalent phenomenon in nature, occurring not only between different species but also within the same species or even within a single colony. The first work in this series presents extracellular Fenton chemistry as an alternative mechanism for cellular energy production. Specifically, polyketide synthase (PKS)-derived polycyclic aromatic metabolites initiate and amplify robust extracellular Fenton reactions, whereas non-ribosomal peptide synthase (NRPS)-derived siderophores or iron chelators recycle iron and protect the host from the potentially harmful effects of these reactions. Our findings further demonstrate that extracellular Fenton reactions are pivotal in the formation of boundaries, both within and between strains and species. PKS-derived aromatic metabolites promote the establishment of self-inhibition boundaries, while NRPS-derived siderophores primarily alleviate these boundaries. Notably, the development of these boundaries can be modulated by adjusting media components, such as proteins and starch, thereby influencing metabolic pathways. Consequently, experimental methodologies should be redesigned not merely to assess the antibiotic properties of compounds or metabolites, but to investigate their involvement in extracellular Fenton reactions and self-protection mechanisms, which are fundamental to understanding their natural biological roles.

The Essence of Nature Can Be the Simplest (1)-Warburg Effect: Transition From Intracellular ATP to Extracellular Fenton Chemistry

Here, we explain the energy mechanism behind the Warburg effect of aerobic glycolysis, which has been unsolved for a hundred years. We found that fungal cells that can engage in extracellular Fenton reactions share central carbon metabolism with cancer cells that can produce the Warburg effect. Fungal cells also undergo aerobic glycolysis, significantly reducing intracellular ATP levels and allocating large amounts of oxygen for the extracellular Fenton reactions. The use of aerobic glycolysis for the extracellular Fenton reaction can be a common phenomenon in nature, as glycolysis is a metabolic pathway that occurs in every cell. The development of extracellular Fenton reaction can be divided into rapid and slow formation. Rapid extracellular Fenton reactions occur predominantly in organisms that contain the key biosynthetic genes for secondary metabolite biosynthesis, while endotherms have limited capacity for slow extracellular reactions due to a lack of these critical genes. Endogenous aromatic metabolites can initiate strong extracellular Fenton reactions, and siderophores can sequester and recycle iron and protect the host from extracellular Fenton reactions. Most exogenous aromatics can induce an extracellular Fenton reaction reflux, thereby inhibiting cancer cells and pathogenetic microorganisms that exhibit stronger extracellular Fenton reactions than normal cells and non-pathogenetic microorganisms.

Thermophilic fungus uses anthraquinones to modulate ferrous excretion, sterol-mediated endocytosis, and iron storage in response to cold stress

To date, there are no real physiological mechanisms for iron excretion in eukaryote, and no physiological "actuator" that can control all the three fundamental biologic processes of absorption, storage, and excretion. Here, we observed that the accumulation of anthraquinones by Thermomyces dupontii under cold stress can achieve this process. Through mutation analysis, we found that mutant ΔAn deficiency in anthraquinones accumulated ferrous and total free iron due to adopting a rare lifestyle with no endocytosis but accumulation of membrane-derived vesicles. Anthraquinone complement indicated that the vesicles in ΔAn could coat the extrinsic anthraquinone-induced granules to prevent contact with the fungal interiors. Detailed chemical investigation on ΔAn led to characterization of a rare oxygen-free ergosterene with unstable nature in air as the major membrane steroid in ΔAn, suggesting hypoxia inner in ΔAn cells, consistent with dramatically low oxygen-consuming rates in ΔAn. A series of physiological and metabolic analyses indicated anthraquinones were involved in exporting ferrous and promoting formation of oxygen-containing metabolites, including ergosterols for endocytosis and iron chelators for iron storage. Moreover, we found that both the anticancer agent mitoxantrone with well-known-cardiotoxicity side effect and the major terpenoid-derived polycyclic aromatics from Danshen for treating cardiovascular disease showed potent ferrous transporting capabilities in human cancer cells. Our findings provide a novel insight into the underlying mechanisms of polycyclic aromatics in nature and pharmacology, and offer a new strategy for developing potential therapeutics and agents for membrane transport, iron homestasis, and anticold.