Assessing Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Diversity of Specialized Metabolites in the Conserved Gut Symbionts of Herbivorous Turtle Ants.

ABSTRACT: Cephalotes are herbivorous ants (>115 species) feeding on low-nitrogen food sources, and they rely on gut symbionts to supplement their diet by recycling nitrogen food waste into amino acids. These conserved gut symbionts, which encompass five bacterial orders, have been studied previously for their primary nitrogen metabolism; however, little is known about their ability to biosynthesize specialized metabolites which can play a role in bacterial interactions between communities living in close proximity in the gut. To evaluate the biosynthetic potential of their gut symbionts, we mine 14 cultured isolate genomes and gut metagenomes across 17 Cephalotes species to explore the biodiversity of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) producing specialized metabolites. The diversity of

SUBMITTER: Chanson A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8277422 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature