The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States.
Adv Genet. 2017;100:141-178. doi: 10.1016/bs.adgen.2017.09.005. Epub 2017 Oct 20.
Metabolic gene clusters (MGCs) have provided some of the earliest glimpses at the biochemical machinery of yeast and filamentous fungi. MGCs encode diverse genetic mechanisms for nutrient acquisition and the synthesis/degradation of essential and adaptive metabolites. Beyond encoding the enzymes performing these discrete anabolic or catabolic processes, MGCs may encode a range of mechanisms that enable their persistence as genetic consortia; these include enzymatic mechanisms to protect their host fungi from their inherent toxicities, and integrated regulatory machinery. This modular, self-contained nature of MGCs contributes to the metabolic and ecological adaptability of fungi. The phylogenetic and ecological patterns of MGC distribution reflect the broad diversity of fungal life cycles and nutritional modes. While the origins of most gene clusters are enigmatic, MGCs are thought to be born into a genome through gene duplication, relocation, or horizontal transfer, and analyzing the death and decay of gene clusters provides clues about the mechanisms selecting for their assembly. Gene clustering may provide inherent fitness advantages through metabolic efficiency and specialization, but experimental evidence for this is currently limited. The identification and characterization of gene clusters will continue to be powerful tools for elucidating fungal metabolism as well as understanding the physiology and ecology of fungi.
代谢基因簇 (MGCs) 为我们提供了最早了解酵母和丝状真菌生化机制的机会之一。MGC 编码了用于获取营养物质以及合成/降解必需和适应性代谢物的各种遗传机制。除了编码执行这些不同的合成代谢或分解代谢过程的酶之外，MGC 可能还编码了一系列使它们作为遗传联合体持续存在的机制；这些机制包括使宿主真菌免受自身毒性影响的酶促机制，以及整合的调控机制。MGC 的这种模块化、自包含的性质有助于真菌的代谢和生态适应性。MGC 分布的系统发育和生态模式反映了真菌生命周期和营养模式的广泛多样性。虽然大多数基因簇的起源仍然是个谜，但人们认为 MGC 是通过基因复制、重定位或水平转移进入基因组的，分析基因簇的死亡和衰退为选择其组装的机制提供了线索。基因聚类可能通过代谢效率和专业化提供内在的适应性优势，但目前这方面的实验证据有限。鉴定和表征基因簇将继续成为阐明真菌代谢以及理解真菌生理学和生态学的有力工具。
