Stroe Maria Cristina, Netzker Tina, Scherlach Kirstin, Krüger Thomas, Hertweck Christian, Valiante Vito, Brakhage Axel A
Department of Molecular and Applied Microbiology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (HKI), Jena, Germany.
Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.
Elife. 2020 Feb 21;9:e52541. doi: 10.7554/eLife.52541.
Microorganisms produce numerous secondary metabolites (SMs) with various biological activities. Many of their encoding gene clusters are silent under standard laboratory conditions because for their activation they need the ecological context, such as the presence of other microorganisms. The true ecological function of most SMs remains obscure, but understanding of both the activation of silent gene clusters and the ecological function of the produced compounds is of importance to reveal functional interactions in microbiomes. Here, we report the identification of an as-yet uncharacterized silent gene cluster of the fungus , which is activated by the bacterium during the bacterial-fungal interaction. The resulting natural product is the novel fungal metabolite fumigermin, the biosynthesis of which requires the polyketide synthase FgnA. Fumigermin inhibits germination of spores of the inducing and thus helps the fungus to defend resources in the shared habitat against a bacterial competitor.
微生物产生许多具有各种生物活性的次级代谢产物（SMs）。它们的许多编码基因簇在标准实验室条件下是沉默的，因为它们的激活需要生态环境，例如其他微生物的存在。大多数SMs的真正生态功能仍然不清楚，但了解沉默基因簇的激活以及所产生化合物的生态功能对于揭示微生物群落中的功能相互作用很重要。在这里，我们报告了一种尚未表征的真菌沉默基因簇的鉴定，该基因簇在细菌与真菌的相互作用过程中被细菌激活。产生的天然产物是新型真菌代谢物烟曲霉素，其生物合成需要聚酮合酶FgnA。烟曲霉素抑制诱导菌的孢子萌发，从而帮助真菌在共享栖息地中抵御细菌竞争者来保护资源。
