Identification of polyketide synthase genes required for aspinolide biosynthesis in Trichoderma arundinaceum

The fungus Trichoderma arundinaceum exhibits biological control activity against crop diseases caused by other fungi. Two mechanisms that likely contribute to this activity are upregulation of plant defenses and production of two types of antifungal secondary metabolites: the sesquiterpenoid harzian...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied microbiology and biotechnology 2022-11, Vol.106 (21), p.7153-7171
Main Authors: Cardoza, Rosa E., McCormick, Susan P., Izquierdo-Bueno, Inmaculada, Martínez-Reyes, Natalia, Lindo, Laura, Brown, Daren W., Collado, Isidro G., Proctor, Robert H., Gutiérrez, Santiago
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Antibiosis
Biological activity
Biological control
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biosynthesis
Biotechnology
Fungi
Fungicides
Gene deletion
Gene expression
Gene sequencing
Genes
Genetic aspects
Genomics
Genomics, Transcriptomics, Proteomics
Identification and classification
Life Sciences
Metabolites
Microbial Genetics and Genomics
Microbiology
Mutants
Phylogeny
Plant diseases
Polyketide synthase
Polyketides
Production increases
Proteomics
Secondary metabolites
Transcriptomics
Trichoderma
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Summary:The fungus Trichoderma arundinaceum exhibits biological control activity against crop diseases caused by other fungi. Two mechanisms that likely contribute to this activity are upregulation of plant defenses and production of two types of antifungal secondary metabolites: the sesquiterpenoid harzianum A (HA) and the polyketide-derived aspinolides. The goal of the current study was to identify aspinolide biosynthetic genes as part of an effort to understand how these metabolites contribute to the biological control activity of T. arundinaceum . Comparative genomics identified two polyketide synthase genes ( asp1 and asp2 ) that occur in T. arundinaceum and Aspergillus ochraceus , which also produces aspinolides. Gene deletion and biochemical analyses in T. arundinaceum indicated that both genes are required for aspinolide production: asp2 for formation of a 10-member lactone ring and asp1 for formation of a butenoyl subsituent at position 8 of the lactone ring. Gene expression and comparative genomics analyses indicated that asp1 and asp2 are located within a gene cluster that occurs in both T. arundinaceum and A. ochraceus . A survey of genome sequences representing 35 phylogenetically diverse Trichoderma species revealed that intact homologs of the cluster occurred in only two other species, which also produced aspinolides. An asp2 mutant inhibited fungal growth more than the wild type, but an asp1 mutant did not, and the greater inhibition by the asp2 mutant coincided with increased HA production. These findings indicate that asp1 and asp2 are aspinolide biosynthetic genes and that loss of either aspinolide or HA production in T. arundinaceum can be accompanied by increased production of the other metabolite(s). Key points • Two polyketide synthase genes are required for aspinolide biosynthesis. • Blocking aspinolide production increases production of the terpenoid harzianum A. • Aspinolides and harzianum A act redundantly in antibiosis of T. arundinaceum.
ISSN:0175-7598
1432-0614
1432-0614
DOI:10.1007/s00253-022-12182-9