Abstract (Expand)
A spider-transmitted fungus (Rhizopus microspo-
rus) that was isolated from necrotic human tissue was found to
harbor endofungal bacteria (Burkholderia sp.). Metabolic
profiling of the symbionts revealed … a complex of cytotoxic
agents (necroximes). Their structures were characterized as
oxime-substituted benzolactone enamides with a peptidic side
chain. The potently cytotoxic necroximes are also formed in
symbiosis with the fungal host and could have contributed to
the necrosis. Genome sequencing and computational analyses
revealed a novel modular PKS/NRPS assembly line equipped
with several non-canonical domains. Based on gene-deletion
mutants, we propose a biosynthetic model for bacterial
benzolactones. We identified specific traits that serve as genetic
handles to find related salicylate macrolide pathways (lobata-
mide, oximidine, apicularen) in various other bacterial genera.
Knowledge of the biosynthetic pathway enables biosynthetic
engineering and genome-mining approaches.
Authors: Sarah Niehs, Benjamin Dose, Sophie Richter, Sacha J. Pidot, Timothy P. Stinear, Hans-Martin Dahse, Christian Hertweck
Date Published: 10th Feb 2020
Publication Type: Not specified
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201916007
Citation: S. P. Niehs, B. Dose, S. Richter, S. J. Pidot, H.-M. Dahse, T. P. Stinear, C. Hertweck, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2020, 59, 7766-7771.