A Major Facilitator Superfamily Transporter Contributes to Ergot Alkaloid Accumulation but Not Secretion in Aspergillus leporis.

ABSTRACT: Ergot alkaloids are fungal natural products with important roles in agriculture and medicine. We used heterologous expression and gene knockout approaches to investigate potential roles for the product of a major facilitator superfamily transporter gene (easT) recently found in an ergot alkaloid biosynthetic gene cluster in Aspergillus leporis. A strain of Aspergillus fumigatus previously engineered to accumulate lysergic acid, but which did not convert the precursor agroclavine to lysergic acid efficiently or secrete lysergic acid well, was chosen as an expression host for easT. Expression of easT in this strain resulted in accumulation of significantly more pathway intermediates but no detectable lysergic acid. Secretion of ergot alkaloids was reduced i

SUBMITTER: Jones AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11271707 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature