Linking secondary metabolites to biosynthesis genes in the fungal endophyte Cyanodermella asteris: The anti-cancer bisanthraquinone skyrin

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Linda Jahn - , Chair of Plant Physiology (Author)
  • Thomas Schafhauser - , University of Tübingen (Author)
  • Daniel Wibberg - , Bielefeld University (Author)
  • Christian Rückert - , Bielefeld University (Author)
  • Anika Winkler - , Bielefeld University (Author)
  • Andreas Kulik - , University of Tübingen (Author)
  • Tilman Weber - , University of Tübingen, Technical University of Denmark (Author)
  • Liane Flor - , Chair of Biochemistry (Author)
  • Karl-Heinz van Pee - , Chair of Biochemistry (Author)
  • Jörn Kalinowski - , Bielefeld University (Author)
  • Jutta Ludwig-Müller - , Chair of Plant Physiology (Author)
  • Wolfgang Wohlleben - , University of Tübingen (Author)

Abstract

Fungal aromatic polyketides display a very diverse and widespread group of natural products. Due to their excellent light absorption properties and widely studied biological activities, they offer numerous application for food, textile and pharmaceutical industry. The biosynthetic pathways of fungal aromatic polyketides usually involve a set of successive enzymes, in which a non-reductive polyketide synthase iteratively catalyzes the essential assembly of simple building blocks into (often polycyclic) aromatic compounds. However, only a limited number of such pathways have been described so far and further elucidation of the individual biosynthetic steps is needed to fully exploit the biotechnological and medicinal potential of these compounds. Here, we identified the bisanthraquinone skyrin as the main pigment of the fungus Cyanodermella asteris, an endophyte that has recently been isolated from the traditional Chinese medicinal plant Aster tataricus. The genome of C. asteris was sequenced, assembled and annotated, which enables first insights into a genome from a non-lichenized member of the class Lecanoromycetes. Genetic and in silico analyses led to the identification of a gene cluster of five genes suggested to encode the enzymatic pathway for skyrin. Our study is a starting point for rational pathway engineering in order to drive the production towards higher yields or more active derivatives. Moreover, our investigations revealed a large potential of secondary metabolite production in C. asteris as well as in all Lecanoromycetes of which genomes were available. These findings convincingly emphasize that Lecanoromycetes are prolific producers of secondary metabolites.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)233-239
JournalJournal of Biotechnology
Volume2017
Issue number257
Publication statusPublished - 2017
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85023761468
ORCID /0000-0001-9147-4188/work/142257652

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • Sekundärmeabolite