LaeA-Regulated Fungal Traits Mediate Bacterial Community Assembly

Tannous, Joanna; Cosetta, Casey M.; Drott, Milton T.; Rush, Tomás A.; Abraham, Paul E.; Giannone, Richard J.; Keller, Nancy P.; Wolfe, Benjamin E.

doi:10.1128/mbio.00769-23

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…In this study, it was found that genes for fumagillin and pseurotin were physically intertwined in a single supercluster. Pseurotin is not described as having a role in aspergillosis, but interestingly, this metabolite has been recently found to exhibit antibacterial properties and mediate the bacterial composition of the cheese rind microbiome [60].…”

Section: Timeline Of Linkage Of Natural Products To Specific Bgcsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Timeline of Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Discovery in Aspergillus fumigatus: From Characterization to Future Perspectives

Seo,

Wassano,

Amir Rawa

et al. 2024

JoF

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In 1999, the first biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC), synthesizing the virulence factor DHN melanin, was characterized in Aspergillus fumigatus. Since then, 19 additional BGCs have been linked to specific secondary metabolites (SMs) in this species. Here, we provide a comprehensive timeline of A. fumigatus BGC discovery and find that initial advances centered around the commonly expressed SMs where chemical structure informed rationale identification of the producing BGC (e.g., gliotoxin, fumigaclavine, fumitremorgin, pseurotin A, helvolic acid, fumiquinazoline). Further advances followed the transcriptional profiling of a ΔlaeA mutant, which aided in the identification of endocrocin, fumagillin, hexadehydroastechrome, trypacidin, and fumisoquin BGCs. These SMs and their precursors are the commonly produced metabolites in most A. fumigatus studies. Characterization of other BGC/SM pairs required additional efforts, such as induction treatments, including co-culture with bacteria (fumicycline/neosartoricin, fumigermin) or growth under copper starvation (fumivaline, fumicicolin). Finally, four BGC/SM pairs were discovered via overexpression technologies, including the use of heterologous hosts (fumicycline/neosartoricin, fumihopaside, sphingofungin, and sartorypyrone). Initial analysis of the two most studied A. fumigatus isolates, Af293 and A1160, suggested that both harbored ca. 34–36 BGCs. However, an examination of 264 available genomes of A. fumigatus shows up to 20 additional BGCs, with some strains showing considerable variations in BGC number and composition. These new BGCs present a new frontier in the future of secondary metabolism characterization in this important species.

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Section: Timeline Of Linkage Of Natural Products To Specific Bgcsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Timeline of Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Discovery in Aspergillus fumigatus: From Characterization to Future Perspectives

Seo,

Wassano,

Amir Rawa

et al. 2024

JoF

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“…Gene‐editing tools have become more widely available, allowing researchers to test evolutionary hypotheses in a much wider range of organisms (e.g. Karageorgi et al., 2019; Tannous et al., 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A phylogenomic perspective on interspecific competition

Louw,

Wolfe,

Uricchio

2024

Ecology Letters

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Evolutionary processes may have substantial impacts on community assembly, but evidence for phylogenetic relatedness as a determinant of interspecific interaction strength remains mixed. In this perspective, we consider a possible role for discordance between gene trees and species trees in the interpretation of phylogenetic signal in studies of community ecology. Modern genomic data show that the evolutionary histories of many taxa are better described by a patchwork of histories that vary along the genome rather than a single species tree. If a subset of genomic loci harbour trait‐related genetic variation, then the phylogeny at these loci may be more informative of interspecific trait differences than the genome background. We develop a simple method to detect loci harbouring phylogenetic signal and demonstrate its application through a proof‐of‐principle analysis of Penicillium genomes and pairwise interaction strength. Our results show that phylogenetic signal that may be masked genome‐wide could be detectable using phylogenomic techniques and may provide a window into the genetic basis for interspecific interactions.

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“…If a cluster‐specific transcription factor is encoded inside the cluster, this is the first gene to be expressed and in turn activates all other cluster genes. In addition, global regulators like LaeA are required for the coordinated expression of the genes (Keller et al., 2006; Tannous et al., 2023). Applying these parameters to whole‐genome transcriptomic approaches helps to identify novel gene clusters.…”

Section: Biosynthesis—from Simple To Complexmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complexity of fungal polyketide biosynthesis and function

Stroe,

Gao,

Pitz

et al. 2023

Molecular Microbiology

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Where does one draw the line between primary and secondary metabolism? The answer depends on the perspective. Microbial secondary metabolites (SMs) were at first believed not to be very important for the producers because they are dispensable for growth under laboratory conditions. However, such compounds become important in natural niches of the organisms, and some are of prime importance for humanity. Polyketides are an important group of SMs with aflatoxin as a well‐known and well‐characterized example. In Aspergillus spp., all 34 afl genes encoding the enzymes for aflatoxin biosynthesis are located in close vicinity on chromosome III in a so‐called gene cluster. This led to the assumption that most genes required for polyketide biosynthesis are organized in gene clusters. Recent research, however, revealed an enormous complexity of the biosynthesis of different polyketides, ranging from individual polyketide synthases to a gene cluster producing several compounds, or to several clusters with additional genes scattered in the genome for the production of one compound. Research of the last decade furthermore revealed a huge potential for SM biosynthesis hidden in fungal genomes, and methods were developed to wake up such sleeping genes. The analysis of organismic interactions starts to reveal some of the ecological functions of polyketides for the producing fungi.

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LaeA-Regulated Fungal Traits Mediate Bacterial Community Assembly

Abstract: Cheese rinds are economically important microbial communities where fungi can impact food quality and aesthetics. The specific mechanisms by which fungi can regulate bacterial community assembly in cheeses, other fermented foods, and microbiomes in general are largely unknown.

Cited by 9 publications

References 86 publications

A Timeline of Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Discovery in Aspergillus fumigatus: From Characterization to Future Perspectives

A Timeline of Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Discovery in Aspergillus fumigatus: From Characterization to Future Perspectives

A phylogenomic perspective on interspecific competition

Complexity of fungal polyketide biosynthesis and function

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