CRISPR-Cas9-Based Discovery of the Verrucosidin Biosynthesis Gene Cluster in Penicillium polonicum.

ABSTRACT: Penicillium polonicum, commonly found on food matrices, is a mycotoxigenic species able to produce a neurotoxin called verrucosidin. This methylated α-pyrone polyketide inhibits oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria and thereby causes neurological diseases. Despite the importance of verrucosidin as a toxin, its biosynthetic genes have not been characterized yet. By similarity analysis with the polyketide synthase (PKS) genes for the α-pyrones aurovertin (AurA) and citreoviridin (CtvA), 16 PKS genes for putative α-pyrones were identified in the P. polonicum genome. A single PKS gene, verA, was found to be transcribed under verrucosidin-producing growth conditions. The annotated functions of the genes neighboring verA correspond to those required for verrucosi

SUBMITTER: Valente S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8176439 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature