Ergot alkaloid biosynthesis by isolates of Balansia epichloë and B. henningsiana

1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (12) ◽  
pp. 2534-2538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles W. Bacon ◽  
James K. Porter ◽  
Joe D. Robbins
Keyword(s):  
Ergot Alkaloid ◽  
Sampling Site ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Ergot Alkaloids ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
Alkaloid Biosynthesis ◽  
Andropogon Virginicus ◽  
Clavicipitaceous Fungi

Two endophytic clavicipitaceous fungi, Balansia epichloë and B. henningsiana, were isolated from several grasses, cultured on laboratory media, and assessed for their ability to produce the major ergot alkaloids agroclavine, chanoclavine (I), ergonovine, and ergonovinine. Data indicated that the ability of these two species of fungi to biosynthesize ergot alkaloids was host related. All isolates of B. epichloë from smut-grass (Sporobolus poiretii) and 59% of the isolates of B. henningsiana from broom-sedge (Andropogon virginicus) produced the major alkaloids in culture. All isolates of B. epichloë from Eragrostis secundiflora and E. hirsuta, and all isolates of B. henningsiana from Panicum tenerum failed to produce alkaloids. The total yield and chemical species of individual alkaloids varied among isolates from a sampling site.

scholarly journals Towards the elimination of ergot alkaloid biosynthesis genes in Neotyphodium Coenophialum

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 477-479
Author(s):  
S. Florea ◽  
C. Machado ◽  
D. Zhang ◽  
D.G. Panaccione ◽  
C.L. Schardl
Keyword(s):  
Tall Fescue ◽  
Ergot Alkaloid ◽  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Ergot Alkaloids ◽  
Loxp Site ◽  
Alkaloid Biosynthesis ◽  
Neotyphodium Coenophialum ◽  
Type Locus ◽  
Dimethylallyltryptophan Synthase ◽  
Recombination System

Neotyphodium coenophialum strain e19 from tall fescue cv. Kentucky 31 carries dmaW1 and dmaW2, two gene homologues that encode dimethylallyltryptophan synthase, the enzyme for the first step in ergot-alkaloid biosynthesis. In our effort to disrupt both homologues and ultimately obtain marker-free mutants, we are using a marker-exchange strategy employing the Cre/ loxP site-specific recombination system. Of 1522 transformants obtained and screened, three were likely dmaW2 disruptants because they gave no PCR product from the wild-type locus, but yielded the larger PCR fragment from the disruption construct. The putative dmaW2-knockouts were also transformed with pKAES186, a plasmid with a cassette containing the cre and ble genes in between loxP sequences. The transformants obtained were screened for the presence of hph, cre and ble genes. The preliminary results indicate a loop-out of the hph gene. The transformants inoculated into endophyte-free tall fescue preserved their compatibility with the plant. The fungus grown from these plants will be further analysed for the presence of hph, cre and ble genes. Keywords: Cre/LoxP, dimethylallyltryptophan synthase, dmaW, Epichloë, ergot alkaloids, Festuca arundinacea, gene knockouts, Lolium arundinaceum, Neotyphodium coenophialum, tall fescue

scholarly journals An Old Yellow Enzyme Gene Controls the Branch Point between Aspergillus fumigatus and Claviceps purpurea Ergot Alkaloid Pathways

2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (12) ◽  
pp. 3898-3903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M. Coyle ◽  
Johnathan Z. Cheng ◽  
Sarah E. O'Connor ◽  
Daniel G. Panaccione
Keyword(s):  
Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽  
Ergot Alkaloid ◽  
Ergot Alkaloids ◽  
Aldehyde Group ◽  
Ring Structure ◽  
Ring Closure ◽  
Claviceps Purpurea ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Old Yellow Enzyme ◽  
Clavicipitaceous Fungi

ABSTRACT Ergot fungi in the genus Claviceps and several related fungal groups in the family Clavicipitaceae produce toxic ergot alkaloids. These fungi produce a variety of ergot alkaloids, including clavines as well as lysergic acid derivatives. Ergot alkaloids are also produced by the distantly related, opportunistic human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. However, this fungus produces festuclavine and fumigaclavines A, B, and C, which collectively differ from clavines of clavicipitaceous fungi in saturation of the last assembled of four rings in the ergoline ring structure. The two lineages are hypothesized to share early steps of the ergot alkaloid pathway before diverging at some point after the synthesis of the tricyclic intermediate chanoclavine-I. Disruption of easA, a gene predicted to encode a flavin-dependent oxidoreductase of the old yellow enzyme class, in A. fumigatus led to accumulation of chanoclavine-I and chanoclavine-I-aldehyde. Complementation of the A. fumigatus easA mutant with a wild-type allele from the same fungus restored the wild-type profile of ergot alkaloids. These data demonstrate that the product of A. fumigatus easA is required for incorporation of chanoclavine-I-aldehyde into more-complex ergot alkaloids, presumably by reducing the double bond conjugated to the aldehyde group, thus facilitating ring closure. Augmentation of the A. fumigatus easA mutant with a homologue of easA from Claviceps purpurea resulted in accumulation of ergot alkaloids typical of clavicipitaceous fungi (agroclavine, setoclavine, and its diastereoisomer isosetoclavine). These data indicate that functional differences in the easA-encoded old yellow enzymes of A. fumigatus and C. purpurea result in divergence of their respective ergot alkaloid pathways.

scholarly journals Ergot Alkaloids of the Family Clavicipitaceae

2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (5) ◽  
pp. 504-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Florea ◽  
Daniel G. Panaccione ◽  
Christopher L. Schardl
Keyword(s):  
Ergot Alkaloid ◽  
Gene Loss ◽  
Ergot Alkaloids ◽  
Gene Clusters ◽  
Lysergic Acid ◽  
Forage Grasses ◽  
Alkaloid Biosynthesis ◽  
The Family ◽  
Gene Recruitment ◽  
Alkaloid Profiles

Ergot alkaloids are highly diverse in structure, exhibit diverse effects on animals, and are produced by diverse fungi in the phylum Ascomycota, including pathogens and mutualistic symbionts of plants. These mycotoxins are best known from the fungal family Clavicipitaceae and are named for the ergot fungi that, through millennia, have contaminated grains and caused mass poisonings, with effects ranging from dry gangrene to convulsions and death. However, they are also useful sources of pharmaceuticals for a variety of medical purposes. More than a half-century of research has brought us extensive knowledge of ergot-alkaloid biosynthetic pathways from common early steps to several taxon-specific branches. Furthermore, a recent flurry of genome sequencing has revealed the genomic processes underlying ergot-alkaloid diversification. In this review, we discuss the evolution of ergot-alkaloid biosynthesis genes and gene clusters, including roles of gene recruitment, duplication and neofunctionalization, as well as gene loss, in diversifying structures of clavines, lysergic acid amides, and complex ergopeptines. Also reviewed are prospects for manipulating ergot-alkaloid profiles to enhance suitability of endophytes for forage grasses.

Biosynthesis of the ergot alkaloids

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 1328-1338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorota Jakubczyk ◽  
Johnathan Z. Cheng ◽  
Sarah E. O'Connor
Keyword(s):  
Ergot Alkaloid ◽  
Ergot Alkaloids ◽  
Alkaloid Biosynthesis ◽  
New Developments

An update on new developments in the field of ergot alkaloid biosynthesis since 2011 is highlighted.

scholarly journals An Ergot Alkaloid Biosynthesis Gene and Clustered Hypothetical Genes from Aspergillus fumigatus

2005 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 3112-3118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M. Coyle ◽  
Daniel G. Panaccione
Keyword(s):  
Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽  
Ergot Alkaloid ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Ergot Alkaloids ◽  
Alkaloid Production ◽  
Genetic Origin ◽  
Biosynthesis Gene ◽  
Opportunistic Human Pathogen ◽  
Clavicipitaceous Fungi ◽  
Hypothetical Genes

ABSTRACT The ergot alkaloids are a family of indole-derived mycotoxins with a variety of significant biological activities. Aspergillus fumigatus, a common airborne fungus and opportunistic human pathogen, and several fungi in the relatively distant taxon Clavicipitaceae (clavicipitaceous fungi) produce different sets of ergot alkaloids. The ergot alkaloids of these divergent fungi share a four-member ergoline ring but differ in the number, type, and position of the side chains. Several genes required for ergot alkaloid production are known in the clavicipitaceous fungi, and these genes are clustered in the genome of the ergot fungus Claviceps purpurea. We investigated whether the ergot alkaloids of A. fumigatus have a common biosynthetic and genetic origin with those of the clavicipitaceous fungi. A homolog of dmaW, the gene controlling the determinant step in the ergot alkaloid pathway of clavicipitaceous fungi, was identified in the A. fumigatus genome. Knockout of dmaW eliminated all known ergot alkaloids from A. fumigatus, and complementation of the mutation restored ergot alkaloid production. Clustered with dmaW in the A. fumigatus genome are sequences corresponding to five genes previously proposed to encode steps in the ergot alkaloid pathway of C. purpurea, as well as additional sequences whose deduced protein products are consistent with their involvement in the ergot alkaloid pathway. The corresponding genes have similarities in their nucleotide sequences, but the orientations and positions within the cluster of several of these genes differ. The data indicate that the ergot alkaloid biosynthetic capabilities in A. fumigatus and the clavicipitaceous fungi had a common origin.

scholarly journals Seasonal evolution of aerosol stratigraphy in Ürümqi glacier No. 1 percolation zone, eastern Tien Shan, China

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 245-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feiteng Wang ◽  
Zhongqin Li ◽  
Xiaoni You ◽  
Chuanjin Li ◽  
Huilin Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Erosion ◽  
Sampling Site ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Tien Shan ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Surface Layers ◽  
Different Depths ◽  
Physical And Chemical ◽  
Percolation Zone

AbstractThe processes involved in the evolution of vertical profiles of Mg2+, Ca2+ and microparticle concentrations, as well as their seasonal variation in surface snow, were studied by weekly sampling from September 2003 to September 2004 of a snow pit on Ürümqi glacier No. 1, eastern Tien Shan, China. The development of the microparticle and Mg2+ and Ca2+ stratigraphy in the snow pit is closely related to the physical development of the snow–firn pack. The sampling site is located at 4130 ma.s.l. in the percolation zone of the glacier, and in addition to the effects of sublimation and wind erosion, melting plays a crucial role in both the physical and chemical evolution processes. During the winter, soluble aerosol concentrations in the surface layers are altered slightly by sublimation and wind erosion, and the concentrations are further modified as the wet season begins in late April. In contrast, soluble aerosol stratigraphy in the deeper layers remains relatively unchanged through the winter. In early summer, as melting occurs in the upper part of the snow–firn pack, meltwater carries chemical species to different depths in the underlying snow–firn layers, such that at the end of the ablation season, all of the surface cations might be leached out from the upper layers. In addition, the possible source of calcium and magnesium is discussed in this paper.

scholarly journals Assessment of ergot (Claviceps purpurea) exposure in pregnant and postpartum beef cows

2018 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 688-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Grusie ◽  
V. Cowan ◽  
J. Singh ◽  
J. McKinnon ◽  
B. Blakley
Keyword(s):  
Ergot Alkaloid ◽  
Post Partum ◽  
Ergot Alkaloids ◽  
Maximum Size ◽  
Beef Cows ◽  
Plasma Prolactin ◽  
Claviceps Purpurea ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Beef Cow ◽  
The Impact

Cows were fed ration for 9 wk containing 5, 48, 201, and 822 μg kg−1 ergot alkaloids. The objective was to evaluate the impact of ergot consumption in beef cow–calf operations. Ergot alkaloids up to 822 μg kg−1 did not alter the weight of peripartum and postpartum beef cows (P = 0.93) or nursing calves (P = 0.08), rectal temperature (P = 0.16), or plasma prolactin concentrations (P = 0.30) at moderate ambient temperatures. Ergot did not influence the time (>1 ng mL−1; P = 0.79) or the progesterone concentration (P = 0.38) at the time of first postpartum rise or the size of the first (14 ± 0.6 mm; P = 0.40) and second (13 ± 0.5 mm; P = 0.41) follicles to ovulate. The maximum size of the first postpartum corpus luteum (CL) was 4 mm larger in the 822 μg kg−1 ergot group compared with the control (P = 0.03) for the first ovulation post partum, but not for the second (P = 0.11). There was no effect of ergot exposure on the number of days until the appearance of the first (43 ± 4 d; P = 0.95) or second (52 ± 4 d; P = 0.98) CL post partum. Ergot alkaloid concentrations up to 822 μg kg−1 did not affect pregnancy rates (X2 = 0.36). In conclusion, ergot alkaloid exposure for 9 wk to concentrations as high as 822 μg kg−1 did not alter performance in pregnant and postpartum beef cattle at moderate ambient temperatures.

Isolation of ergovaline, ergoptine, and ergonine, new alkaloids of the peptide type, from ergot sclerotia

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (13) ◽  
pp. 1638-1641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudolf Brunner ◽  
Peter Leopold Stütz ◽  
Hans Tscherter ◽  
Paul Albert Stadler
Keyword(s):  
Total Synthesis ◽  
Ergot Alkaloid ◽  
Ergot Alkaloids ◽  
Extraction Processes

The isolation of three new ergot alkaloids of the peptide type from sclerotia of Clavicepspurpurea and from mother liquors of rye ergot alkaloid extraction processes is described. The constitution of the new alkaloids ergovaline, ergoptine, and ergonine has been established by comparison with compounds previously obtained by total synthesis.

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