Genome Sequencing and Analysis Reveal the Mechanism of Terpenoids Biosynthesis in Deep-See-Derived Fungus Aspergillus Tubingensis

Abstract

In recent years, deep-sea-derived fungi have become an important source of marine natural products. Aspergillus tubingensis is extremely rich in secondary metabolites, which is a valuable deep-sea-derived fungus needs to be further explored. So far, many small molecular compounds with novel structure and significant biological activity have been discovered from A. tubingensis, among which terpenoids account for about 20%, showing great research potential in anti-tumor, antiviral and antibacteria. Although more and more new terpenoids have been discovered from A. tubingensis and their structures have been identified, few studies have investigated the biosynthetic pathway of terpenoid. In order to further elucidate the mechanism of terpenoid biosynthesis, the key genes and enzymes involved in terpenoid biosynthesis were successfully mined and further analyzed based on genome sequencing analysis. Subsequently, hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase, mevalonate kinase, phosphomevalonate kinase as well as diphosphomevalonate decarboxylase were annotated, which played important roles in terpenoid biosynthesis of A. tubingensis. Furthermore, the biosynthetic pathway of terpenoid in A. tubingensis has been constructed, which could be applied to develop the metabolic regulation of A. tubingensis. This study would provide more sufficient scientific basis and new ideas for the genetic regulation of terpenoid biosynthesis in A. tubingensis.