Redundant synthesis of a conidial polyketide by two distinct secondary metabolite clusters in Aspergillus fumigatus.

ABSTRACT: Filamentous fungi are renowned for the production of bioactive secondary metabolites. Typically, one distinct metabolite is generated from a specific secondary metabolite cluster. Here, we characterize the newly described trypacidin (tpc) cluster in the opportunistic human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. We find that this cluster as well as the previously characterized endocrocin (enc) cluster both contribute to the production of the spore metabolite endocrocin. Whereas trypacidin is eliminated when only tpc cluster genes are deleted, endocrocin production is only eliminated when both the tpc and enc non-reducing polyketide synthase-encoding genes, tpcC and encA, respectively, are deleted. EncC, an anthrone oxidase, converts the product released from EncA to endocrocin as a final product.

SUBMITTER: Throckmorton K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4750049 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature