Genome Mining of the Genus for Biosynthetic and Biodegradation Potential.

The genus represents a group of acidophilic actinobacteria within the family , and currently encompasses 15 validly named species, which include five recent additions within the last two years. Considering the potential of the related genera within the family, namely and , these relatively new members of the family can also be a promising source for novel secondary metabolites. At present, 15 genome data for 11 species from this genus are available, which can provide valuable information on their biology including the potential for metabolite production as well as enzymatic activities in comparison to the neighboring taxa. In this study, the genome sequences of 11 species were subjected to the comparative analysis together with selected and genomes. This study represents the first comprehensive comparative genomic analysis of the genus . The results indicate that the genomes of contained various secondary metabolite (SM) producing biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), some of them exclusively identified in only. Several of these clusters may potentially code for SMs that may have a broad range of bioactivities, such as antibacterial, antifungal, antimalarial and antitumor activities. The biodegradation capabilities of were also explored by investigating the hydrolytic enzymes for complex carbohydrates. Although all genomes were enriched with carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), their numbers in the genomes of some strains such as Streptacidiphilus carbonis NBRC 100919 were higher as compared to well-known carbohydrate degrading organisms. These distinctive features of each species make them interesting candidates for future studies with respect to their potential for SM production and enzymatic activities.