Refine
Year of publication
- 2019 (2) (remove)
Document Type
- Article (2)
Language
- English (2)
Has Fulltext
- yes (2)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (2)
Keywords
- DNA metabarcoding (1)
- ITS (1)
- biosynthetic gene clusters (1)
- comparative genomics (1)
- elevational gradient (1)
- fungal pathogens (1)
- lichen secondary metabolites (1)
- mycorrhiza (1)
- non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (1)
- oakmoss (1)
Biosynthetic gene content of the "Perfume Lichens" Evernia prunastri and Pseudevernia furfuracea
(2019)
Lichen-forming fungi produce a vast number of unique natural products with a wide variety of biological activities and human uses. Although lichens have remarkable potential in natural product research and industry, the molecular mechanisms underlying the biosynthesis of lichen metabolites are poorly understood. Here we use genome mining and comparative genomics to assess biosynthetic gene clusters and their putative regulators in the genomes of two lichen-forming fungi, which have substantial commercial value in the perfume industry, Evernia prunastri and Pseudevernia furfuracea. We report a total of 80 biosynthetic gene clusters (polyketide synthases (PKS), non-ribosomal peptide synthetases and terpene synthases) in E. prunastri and 51 in P. furfuracea. We present an in-depth comparison of 11 clusters, which show high homology between the two species. A ketosynthase (KS) phylogeny shows that biosynthetic gene clusters from E. prunastri and P. furfuracea are widespread across the Fungi. The phylogeny includes 15 genomes of lichenized fungi and all fungal PKSs with known functions from the MIBiG database. Phylogenetically closely related KS domains predict not only similar PKS architecture but also similar cluster architecture. Our study highlights the untapped biosynthetic richness of lichen-forming fungi, provides new insights into lichen biosynthetic pathways and facilitates heterologous expression of lichen biosynthetic gene clusters.
1. Plant-fungal interactions are important for plant community assembly, but quantifying these relationships remains challenging. High throughput sequencing of fungal communities allows us to identify plant-fungal associations at a high level of resolution, but often fails to provide information on taxonomic and functional assignment of fungi. 2. We transplanted seeds of Pinus cembra across an elevational gradient (1850–2250 m a.s.l.) and identified environmental factors and known fungal associates important for seedling establishment and survival. We then applied null model tests to identify taxonomically unassigned fungi associated with pine recruitment. 3. Early seedling establishment was determined by abiotic environmental factors, while seedling survival was predominantly affected by biotic environmental factors (i.e., the abundance of a fungal pathogen known from literature and the distance to adult trees). Null model tests identified known mycorrhizal partners and a large number of unknown operational taxonomic units (OTUs) associated with seedling survival, including saprotrophic and pathogenic species. These results highlight that unknown fungal OTUs, which are usually discarded from analyses, could play a crucial role for plant survival. 4. Synthesis. We conclude that high throughput metabarcoding paired with null model tests, is a valuable approach for identifying hidden plant-fungal associations within large and complex DNA metabarcoding datasets. Such an approach can be an important tool in illuminating the black box of plant-microbe interactions, and thus understanding ecosystem dynamics.