Self-protection against gliotoxin--a component of the gliotoxin biosynthetic cluster, GliT, completely protects Aspergillus fumigatus against exogenous gliotoxin.

ABSTRACT: Gliotoxin, and other related molecules, are encoded by multi-gene clusters and biosynthesized by fungi using non-ribosomal biosynthetic mechanisms. Almost universally described in terms of its toxicity towards mammalian cells, gliotoxin has come to be considered as a component of the virulence arsenal of Aspergillus fumigatus. Here we show that deletion of a single gene, gliT, in the gliotoxin biosynthetic cluster of two A. fumigatus strains, rendered the organism highly sensitive to exogenous gliotoxin and completely disrupted gliotoxin secretion. Addition of glutathione to both A. fumigatus Delta gliT strains relieved gliotoxin inhibition. Moreover, expression of gliT appears to be independently regulated compared to all other cluster components and is up-regulated by exogenous gliotoxin

SUBMITTER: Schrettl M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2883607 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature