scholarly journals Resistance Gene-Directed Genome Mining of 50 Aspergillus species

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inge Kjærbølling ◽  
Tammi Vesth ◽  
Mikael R. Andersen

AbstractFungal secondary metabolites are a rich source of valuable natural products. Genome sequencing have revealed an enormous potential from predicted biosynthetic gene clusters. It is however currently a time consuming task and an unfeasible task to characterize all biosynthetic gene cluster and to identify possible uses of the compounds. A rational approach is needed to identify promising gene clusters responsible for producing valuable compounds. Several valuable bioactive clusters have been shown to include a resistance gene which is a paralog of the target gene inhibited by the compound. This mechanism can be used to design a rational approach selecting those clusters.We have developed a pipeline FRIGG (Fungal Resistance Gene-directed Genome mining) identifying putative resistance genes found in biosynthetic gene clusters based on homology patterns of the cluster genes. The FRIGG pipeline has been run using 51 Aspergillus and Penicillium genomes, identifying 72 unique protein families with putative resistance genes using various settings in the pipeline. The pipeline was also able to identify the characterized resistance gene inpE from the Fellutamide B cluster thereby validating the approach.We have successfully developed an approach identifying putative valuable bio-active clusters based on a specific resistance mechanism. This approach will be highly useful as an ever increasing amount of genomic data becomes available — the art of identifying and selecting clusters producing novel valuable compounds will only become more crucial.ImportanceSpecies belonging to the Aspergillus genus are known to produce a large number of secondary metabolites, some of these compounds are bioactive and used as pharmaceuticals such as penicillin, cyclosporin and statin. With whole genome sequencing it became apparent that the genetic potential for secondary metabolite production is much bigger than expected. As an increasing number of species are whole genome sequenced an immense number of secondary metabolite genes are predicted and the question of how to selectively identify novel bioactive compounds from this information arises. To address this question, we have created a pipeline identifying genes likely involved in the production of bioactive compounds based on a resistance gene hypothesis approach.

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (9) ◽  
pp. 1164-1180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liwen Zhang ◽  
Qun Yue ◽  
Chen Wang ◽  
Yuquan Xu ◽  
István Molnár

Whole genome sequencing allows the cataloguing of the parvome (secondary metabolome) of hypocrealean entomopathogenic fungi, uncovering biosynthetic gene clusters for known and novel bioactive compounds with ecological and pharmaceutical significance.


eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Charlop-Powers ◽  
Jeremy G Owen ◽  
Boojala Vijay B Reddy ◽  
Melinda A Ternei ◽  
Denise O Guimarães ◽  
...  

Recent bacterial (meta)genome sequencing efforts suggest the existence of an enormous untapped reservoir of natural-product-encoding biosynthetic gene clusters in the environment. Here we use the pyro-sequencing of PCR amplicons derived from both nonribosomal peptide adenylation domains and polyketide ketosynthase domains to compare biosynthetic diversity in soil microbiomes from around the globe. We see large differences in domain populations from all except the most proximal and biome-similar samples, suggesting that most microbiomes will encode largely distinct collections of bacterial secondary metabolites. Our data indicate a correlation between two factors, geographic distance and biome-type, and the biosynthetic diversity found in soil environments. By assigning reads to known gene clusters we identify hotspots of biomedically relevant biosynthetic diversity. These observations not only provide new insights into the natural world, they also provide a road map for guiding future natural products discovery efforts.


Antibiotics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 494
Author(s):  
Lena Mitousis ◽  
Yvonne Thoma ◽  
Ewa M. Musiol-Kroll

The first antibiotic-producing actinomycete (Streptomyces antibioticus) was described by Waksman and Woodruff in 1940. This discovery initiated the “actinomycetes era”, in which several species were identified and demonstrated to be a great source of bioactive compounds. However, the remarkable group of microorganisms and their potential for the production of bioactive agents were only partially exploited. This is caused by the fact that the growth of many actinomycetes cannot be reproduced on artificial media at laboratory conditions. In addition, sequencing, genome mining and bioactivity screening disclosed that numerous biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), encoded in actinomycetes genomes are not expressed and thus, the respective potential products remain uncharacterized. Therefore, a lot of effort was put into the development of technologies that facilitate the access to actinomycetes genomes and activation of their biosynthetic pathways. In this review, we mainly focus on molecular tools and methods for genetic engineering of actinomycetes that have emerged in the field in the past five years (2015–2020). In addition, we highlight examples of successful application of the recently developed technologies in genetic engineering of actinomycetes for activation and/or improvement of the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites.


mSystems ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Inge Kjærbølling ◽  
Tammi Vesth ◽  
Mikael R. Andersen

Species belonging to the Aspergillus genus are known to produce a large number of secondary metabolites; some of these compounds are used as pharmaceuticals, such as penicillin, cyclosporine, and statin. With whole-genome sequencing, it became apparent that the genetic potential for secondary metabolite production is much larger than expected. As an increasing number of species are whole-genome sequenced, thousands of secondary metabolite genes are predicted, and the question of how to selectively identify novel bioactive compounds from this information arises. To address this question, we have created a pipeline to predict genes involved in the production of bioactive compounds based on a resistance gene hypothesis approach.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanim Arpit Singh ◽  
Ajit Kumar Passari ◽  
Anjana Jajoo ◽  
Sheetal Bhasin ◽  
Vijai Kumar Gupta ◽  
...  

The presence of secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) makes actinobacteria well-known producers of diverse metabolites. These ubiquitous microbes are extensively exploited for their ability to synthesize diverse secondary metabolites. The extent of their ability to synthesize various molecules is yet to be evaluated. Current advancements in genome sequencing, metabolomics, and bioinformatics have provided a plethora of information about the mechanism of synthesis of these bioactive molecules. Accessing the biosynthetic gene cluster responsible for the production of metabolites has always been a challenging assignment. The genomic approach developments have opened a new gateway for examining and manipulating novel antibiotic gene clusters. These advancements have now developed a better understanding of actinobacterial physiology and their genetic regulation for the prolific production of natural products. These new approaches provide a unique opportunity to discover novel bioactive compounds that might replenish antibiotics’ exhausted stock and counter the microbes’ resistance crisis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetiana Gren ◽  
Christopher M. Whitford ◽  
Omkar S. Mohite ◽  
Tue S. Jørgensen ◽  
Eftychia E. Kontou ◽  
...  

AbstractStreptomyces griseofuscus DSM 40191 is a fast growing Streptomyces strain that remains largely underexplored as a heterologous host. Here, we report the genome mining of S. griseofuscus, followed by the detailed exploration of its phenotype, including the production of native secondary metabolites and ability to utilise carbon, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus sources. Furthermore, several routes for genetic engineering of S. griseofuscus were explored, including use of GusA-based vectors, CRISPR-Cas9 and CRISPR-cBEST-mediated knockouts. Two out of the three native plasmids were cured using CRISPR-Cas9 technology, leading to the generation of strain S. griseofuscus DEL1. DEL1 was further modified by the full deletion of a pentamycin BGC and an unknown NRPS BGC, leading to the generation of strain DEL2, lacking approx. 500 kbp of the genome, which corresponds to a 5.19% genome reduction. DEL2 can be characterized by faster growth and inability to produce three main native metabolites: lankacidin, lankamycin, pentamycin and their derivatives. To test the ability of DEL2 to heterologously produce secondary metabolites, the actinorhodin BGC was used. We were able to observe a formation of a blue halo, indicating a potential production of actinorhodin by both DEL2 and a wild type.


Author(s):  
Xiyan Wang ◽  
Thomas Isbrandt ◽  
Emil Ørsted Christensen ◽  
Jette Melchiorsen ◽  
Thomas Ostenfeld Larsen ◽  
...  

Pigmented Pseudoalteromonas strains are renowned for their production of secondary metabolites, and genome mining has revealed a high number of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) for which the chemistry is unknown. Identification of those BGCs is a prerequisite for linking products to gene clusters and for further exploitation through heterologous expression.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetiana Gren ◽  
Christopher M. Whitford ◽  
Omkar S. Mohite ◽  
Tue S. Jørgensen ◽  
Eftychia E. Kontou ◽  
...  

AbstractStreptomyces griseofuscus DSM 40191 is a fast growing Streptomyces strain that remains largely underexplored as a heterologous host. Here, we report the genome mining of S. griseofuscus, followed by the detailed exploration of its phenotype, including production of native secondary metabolites and ability to utilise carbon, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus sources. Furthermore, several routes for genetic engineering of S. griseofuscus were explored, including use of GusA-based vectors, CRISPR-Cas9 and CRISPR-cBEST-mediated knockouts. Using CRISPR-BEST technology, core genes of 4 biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) that are situated on the chromosome arms were inactivated and the outcomes of the inactivations were tested. Two out of the three native plasmids were cured using CRISPR-Cas9 technology, leading to the generation of strain S. griseofuscus DEL1. DEL1 was further modified by full deletion of a pentamycin BGC and an unknown NRPS BGC, leading to the generation of strain DEL2, lacking approx. 500 kbp of the genome, which corresponds to a 5,19% genome reduction. Sequencing confirmed that DEL2 does not bear any crucial off-target effects or rearrangements in its genome. It can be characterized by faster growth and inability to produce three main native metabolites of S. griseofuscus: lankacidin, lankamycin, pentamycin and their derivatives. To test the ability of DEL2 to heterologously produce secondary metabolites, the actinorhodin BGC was used. We were able to confirm the production of actinorhodin by both S. griseofuscus wild type and DEL2. We believe that this strain will serve as a good chassis for heterologous expression of BGCs.ImportanceThe rise of antibacterial resistance calls on the development of the next generation of antibiotics, majority of which are derived from natural compounds, produced by actinomycetes. The manipulation, refactoring and expression of BGCs coding for such natural products is a promising approach in secondary metabolite discovery. Thus, the development of a versatile panel of heterologous hosts for the expression of BGCs is essential. We believe that first-to-date systematic, detailed characterisation of S. griseofuscus, a highly promising chassis strain, will not only facilitate the further development of this particular strain, but also will set a blueprint for characterisation of other potential hosts.


Author(s):  
Patrick Videau ◽  
Kaitlyn Wells ◽  
Arun Singh ◽  
Jessie Eiting ◽  
Philip Proteau ◽  
...  

Cyanobacteria are prolific producers of natural products and genome mining has shown that many orphan biosynthetic gene clusters can be found in sequenced cyanobacterial genomes. New tools and methodologies are required to investigate these biosynthetic gene clusters and here we present the use of <i>Anabaena </i>sp. strain PCC 7120 as a host for combinatorial biosynthesis of natural products using the indolactam natural products (lyngbyatoxin A, pendolmycin, and teleocidin B-4) as a test case. We were able to successfully produce all three compounds using codon optimized genes from Actinobacteria. We also introduce a new plasmid backbone based on the native <i>Anabaena</i>7120 plasmid pCC7120ζ and show that production of teleocidin B-4 can be accomplished using a two-plasmid system, which can be introduced by co-conjugation.


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