Sit_2015_Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.U.S.A_112_13150

Reference

Title : Variable genetic architectures produce virtually identical molecules in bacterial symbionts of fungus-growing ants - Sit_2015_Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.U.S.A_112_13150
Author(s) : Sit CS , Ruzzini AC , Van Arnam EB , Ramadhar TR , Currie CR , Clardy J
Ref : Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A , 112 :13150 , 2015
Abstract :

Small molecules produced by Actinobacteria have played a prominent role in both drug discovery and organic chemistry. As part of a larger study of the actinobacterial symbionts of fungus-growing ants, we discovered a small family of three previously unreported piperazic acid-containing cyclic depsipeptides, gerumycins A-C. The gerumycins are slightly smaller versions of dentigerumycin, a cyclic depsipeptide that selectively inhibits a common fungal pathogen, Escovopsis. We had previously identified this molecule from a Pseudonocardia associated with Apterostigma dentigerum, and now we report the molecule from an associate of the more highly derived ant Trachymyrmex cornetzi. The three previously unidentified compounds, gerumycins A-C, have essentially identical structures and were produced by two different symbiotic Pseudonocardia spp. from ants in the genus Apterostigma found in both Panama and Costa Rica. To understand the similarities and differences in the biosynthetic pathways that produced these closely related molecules, the genomes of the three producing Pseudonocardia were sequenced and the biosynthetic gene clusters identified. This analysis revealed that dramatically different biosynthetic architectures, including genomic islands, a plasmid, and the use of spatially separated genetic loci, can lead to molecules with virtually identical core structures. A plausible evolutionary model that unifies these disparate architectures is presented.

PubMedSearch : Sit_2015_Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.U.S.A_112_13150
PubMedID: 26438860
Gene_locus related to this paper: 9pseu-a0a0m4qd95 , 9pseu-a0a0m4qn98 , 9pseu-a0a0m3ua65

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Citations formats

Sit CS, Ruzzini AC, Van Arnam EB, Ramadhar TR, Currie CR, Clardy J (2015)
Variable genetic architectures produce virtually identical molecules in bacterial symbionts of fungus-growing ants
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112 :13150

Sit CS, Ruzzini AC, Van Arnam EB, Ramadhar TR, Currie CR, Clardy J (2015)
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112 :13150