Rational deployment of molecular markers for the benzenediol lactones and related compounds biosynthesis in filamentous fungi.

ABSTRACT: Fungal benzenediol lactones (BDLs) are hydrophobic secondary metabolites that include the mycotoxin zearalenone, the phytotoxin curvularin, and related compounds such as cytosporones and cladosporin. The extensive diversity of macrolactones likely reflects long-standing microbial competition for resource-limited niches. We screened 97 fungal isolates for highly reducing polyketide synthases (HR-PKSs) implicated in BDL biosynthesis, designed degenerate markers for conserved HR-PKS domains, and validated them in silico against 1,039 reference genomes. To automate candidate selection, we developed a customizable pipeline for classifying nucleotide or protein sequences by phylogenetic placement on a curated reference tree (https://github.com/gkoczyk/micro_phyloplace). Phylogenetic placement of

SUBMITTER: Kawalilo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12721105 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature