On top of biosynthetic gene clusters: How epigenetic machinery influences secondary metabolism in fungi.

ABSTRACT: Fungi produce an abundance of bioactive secondary metabolites which can be utilized as antibiotics and pharmaceutical drugs. The genes encoding secondary metabolites are contiguously arranged in biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), which supports co-regulation of all genes required for any one metabolite. However, an ongoing challenge to harvest this fungal wealth is the finding that many of the BGCs are 'silent' in laboratory settings and lie in heterochromatic regions of the genome. Successful approaches allowing access to these regions - in essence converting the heterochromatin covering BGCs to euchromatin - include use of epigenetic stimulants and genetic manipulation of histone modifying proteins. This review provides a comprehensive look at the chromatin remodeling proteins which have

SUBMITTER: Pfannenstiel BT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6685777 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature