Chemical Compounds Toxic to Invertebrates Isolated from Marine Cyanobacteria of Potential Relevance to the Agricultural Industry

Essack, Magbubah; Alzubaidy, Hanin S.; Bajic, Vladimir B.; Archer, John

doi:10.3390/toxins6113058

Cited by 12 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 65 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Curacin A-like compounds produced by the same species (tropical Lyngbia majuscula ) were shown to induce neurotoxicity in rat neurons via interaction with ligand-gated ion channels, though curacin A itself did not have such effect in rat neurons 44 . As curacin A is toxic to shrimp 36 , the difference in toxicity (shrimp vs. rat neurons) might be related to differences in specificity towards the target molecule. Finally, nocuolin A and barbamide have not been studied for potential neurotoxicity or interaction with ion channels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolutionary advantage of toxin production among cyanobacteria, the oldest known organisms on Earth

Ramos

Ionescu

Koča

2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

21 organisms on Earth 22 23Cyanobacteria produce toxic secondary metabolites for reasons hitherto unclear. Using a 24 phylogenetic approach that accounts for the high complexity of biosynthetic gene clusters (full or 25 partial inversions, variable length, different number of genes, non-orthologues), we analyzed the 26 sequences of 76 biosynthetic gene clusters covering 19 cyanotoxins. The phylogenetic tree of 27 biosynthetic gene clusters branches first according to the bioactivity of the toxic metabolite 28 (molecular target in another organism), then according to the chemical class and chemical 29 structure of the secondary metabolite, and finally according to the organism and area of origin. 30The bioactivity of a toxic metabolite can be deduced directly from the nucleotide sequence of the 31 biosynthetic gene cluster, without needing to examine the enzymes themselves or to measure 32 expression levels. Bioactivity may have been the primary driving force behind the diversity of 33 secondary metabolism in cyanobacteria. This genetic machinery evolved to facilitate three 34 specific survival strategies acting separately or in tandem, with dominant cyanobacteria 35 possessing the genetic machinery to support all three strategies. Transmembrane (direct) toxicity 36 targeting ion channels, intracellular (indirect) toxicity targeting cell-cycle regulation, and 37 digestion inhibition targeting proteases may have provided the survival advantage underpinning 38 the evolutionary success of both cyanobacteria and their early symbiotic hosts. 39 40 Keywords: cyanotoxin, evolutionary benefit, bioactivity, phylogenetic analysis 41 42 3 43 Introduction 44 Bioactive secondary metabolites, which are products of pathways not directly involved in 45 growth, development, or reproduction, often serve complex functions that aid survival and 46 increase dominance of an organism in a given ecological niche. Snake venoms are probably the 47 most famous examples of bioactive secondary metabolites, though not nearly the most versatile. 48 Bacteria, fungi, and plants all exhibit an impressive array of secondary metabolites, with 49 cyanobacteria being the earliest organisms to develop such capabilities. Cyanobacteria are 50 unicellular photosynthetic prokaryotes populating marine, fresh-water, and land ecosystems, 51 which drove the rapid oxygenation of Earth's atmosphere and are recognized as the ancestors of 52 plastids 1 . Cyanobacteria continue to exert a crucial environmental impact because they produce 53 about 25% of all carbohydrates on Earth and perform massive nitrogen fixation together with 54 sequestering trace metals and phosphorous from the environment, thus fueling most 55 contemporary food chains. In addition, many cyanobacteria produce unique secondary 56 metabolites (typically, peptides and alkaloids) via non-ribosomal peptide synthesis (NRPS) 57 and/or polyketide synthesis (PKS), with complex environmental, economic, and health impact 2 . 58The exact function of cyanobacterial secondary metabolites remains largely un...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolutionary advantage of toxin production among cyanobacteria, the oldest known organisms on Earth

Ramos

Ionescu

Koča

2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Proof-of-concept studies exist for using Cyanobacteria as producers of biofuels (Lindberg et al 2010 ; Oliver et al 2013 ; Nozzi et al 2013 ) or bioactive compounds (Singh et al 2005 ; Essack et al 2014 ; Singh et al 2016 ; Humisto et al 2016 ). However, the currently available engineered strains are not producing sufficient amounts of free fatty acids (FFA) to be commercially viable.…”

Section: Cyanobacteria: the Potential To Derive Biomass From Solar Enmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our results strongly suggest that the top-ranked cyanobacterial strains that should be targeted for this purpose primarily include Prochlorococcus (order Prochlorales) and marine Synechococcus (order Chroococcales). Another interesting application of Cyanobacteria as cell factories is in the production of metabolites that are toxic to both terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, and could serve as potential pesticides (Essack et al 2014 ). Cyanobacterial genera we identified in this process as potential producers of pesticides include Lyngbya , Leptolyngbya , Phormidium , Nostoc , Microcystis , and Planktothrix .…”

Section: Cyanobacteria: the Potential To Derive Biomass From Solar Enmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building a bio-based industry in the Middle East through harnessing the potential of the Red Sea biodiversity

Nielsen

Archer

Essack

et al. 2017

Appl Microbiol Biotechnol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The incentive for developing microbial cell factories for production of fuels and chemicals comes from the ability of microbes to deliver these valuable compounds at a reduced cost and with a smaller environmental impact compared to the analogous chemical synthesis. Another crucial advantage of microbes is their great biological diversity, which offers a much larger “catalog” of molecules than the one obtainable by chemical synthesis. Adaptation to different environments is one of the important drives behind microbial diversity. We argue that the Red Sea, which is a rather unique marine niche, represents a remarkable source of biodiversity that can be geared towards economical and sustainable bioproduction processes in the local area and can be competitive in the international bio-based economy. Recent bioprospecting studies, conducted by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, have established important leads on the Red Sea biological potential, with newly isolated strains of Bacilli and Cyanobacteria. We argue that these two groups of local organisms are currently most promising in terms of developing cell factories, due to their ability to operate in saline conditions, thus reducing the cost of desalination and sterilization. The ability of Cyanobacteria to perform photosynthesis can be fully exploited in this particular environment with one of the highest levels of irradiation on the planet. We highlight the importance of new experimental and in silico methodologies needed to overcome the hurdles of developing efficient cell factories from the Red Sea isolates.

show abstract

Antibacterial, antifungal and antimycobacterial compounds from cyanobacteria

Swain

Paidesetty

Padhy

2017

Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy

130

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Chemical Compounds Toxic to Invertebrates Isolated from Marine Cyanobacteria of Potential Relevance to the Agricultural Industry

Cited by 12 publications

References 65 publications

The evolutionary advantage of toxin production among cyanobacteria, the oldest known organisms on Earth

The evolutionary advantage of toxin production among cyanobacteria, the oldest known organisms on Earth

Building a bio-based industry in the Middle East through harnessing the potential of the Red Sea biodiversity

Antibacterial, antifungal and antimycobacterial compounds from cyanobacteria

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About