1
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Dinglasan JLN, Otani H, Doering DT, Udwary D, Mouncey NJ. Microbial secondary metabolites: advancements to accelerate discovery towards application. Nat Rev Microbiol 2025; 23:338-354. [PMID: 39824928 DOI: 10.1038/s41579-024-01141-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/20/2025]
Abstract
Microbial secondary metabolites not only have key roles in microbial processes and relationships but are also valued in various sectors of today's economy, especially in human health and agriculture. The advent of genome sequencing has revealed a previously untapped reservoir of biosynthetic capacity for secondary metabolites indicating that there are new biochemistries, roles and applications of these molecules to be discovered. New predictive tools for biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) and their associated pathways have provided insights into this new diversity. Advanced molecular and synthetic biology tools and workflows including cell-based and cell-free expression facilitate the study of previously uncharacterized BGCs, accelerating the discovery of new metabolites and broadening our understanding of biosynthetic enzymology and the regulation of BGCs. These are complemented by new developments in metabolite detection and identification technologies, all of which are important for unlocking new chemistries that are encoded by BGCs. This renaissance of secondary metabolite research and development is catalysing toolbox development to power the bioeconomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaime Lorenzo N Dinglasan
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Hiroshi Otani
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Drew T Doering
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Daniel Udwary
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Nigel J Mouncey
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA.
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2
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Ford JJ, Santos-Aberturas J, Hems ES, Sallmen JW, Bögeholz LAK, Polturak G, Osbourn A, Wright JA, Rodnina MV, Vereecke D, Francis IM, Truman AW. Identification of the lydiamycin biosynthetic gene cluster in a plant pathogen guides structural revision and identification of molecular target. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2025; 122:e2424388122. [PMID: 40388608 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2424388122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/07/2025] [Indexed: 05/21/2025] Open
Abstract
The natural products actinonin and matlystatin feature an N-hydroxy-2-pentyl-succinamyl (HPS) chemophore that facilitates metal chelation and confers their metalloproteinase inhibitory activity. Actinonin is the most potent natural inhibitor of peptide deformylase (PDF) and exerts antimicrobial and herbicidal bioactivity by disrupting protein synthesis. Here, we used a genomics-led approach to identify candidate biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) hypothesized to produce HPS-containing natural products. We show that one of these BGCs is on the pathogenicity megaplasmid of the plant pathogen Rhodococcus fascians and produces lydiamycin A, a macrocyclic pentapeptide. The presence of genes predicted to make an HPS-like chemophore informed the structural recharacterization of lydiamycin via NMR and crystallography to show that it features a rare 2-pentyl-succinyl chemophore. We demonstrate that lydiamycin A inhibits bacterial PDF in vitro and show that a cluster-situated PDF gene confers resistance to lydiamycin A, representing an uncommon self-immunity mechanism associated with the production of a PDF inhibitor. In planta competition assays showed that lydiamycin enhances the fitness of R. fascians during plant colonization. This study highlights how a BGC can inform the structure, biochemical target, and ecological function of a natural product.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan J Ford
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, John Innes Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, United Kingdom
| | - Javier Santos-Aberturas
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, John Innes Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, United Kingdom
- Centre for Microbial Interactions, Norwich NR4 7UG, United Kingdom
| | - Edward S Hems
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, John Innes Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, United Kingdom
- Centre for Microbial Interactions, Norwich NR4 7UG, United Kingdom
| | - Joseph W Sallmen
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, John Innes Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, United Kingdom
| | - Lena A K Bögeholz
- Department of Physical Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen 37077, Germany
| | - Guy Polturak
- Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, John Innes Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, United Kingdom
| | - Anne Osbourn
- Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, John Innes Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, United Kingdom
| | - Joseph A Wright
- School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| | - Marina V Rodnina
- Department of Physical Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen 37077, Germany
| | - Danny Vereecke
- School of Nursing, Howest University of Applied Sciences, Bruges 8200, Belgium
| | - Isolde M Francis
- Department of Biology, California State University, Bakersfield, CA 93311
| | - Andrew W Truman
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, John Innes Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, United Kingdom
- Centre for Microbial Interactions, Norwich NR4 7UG, United Kingdom
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3
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Liu Y, Tang Y, Fu Z, Zhu W, Wang H, Zhang H. BGC heteroexpression strategy for production of novel microbial secondary metabolites. Metab Eng 2025; 91:1-29. [PMID: 40158686 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2025.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2024] [Revised: 03/13/2025] [Accepted: 03/27/2025] [Indexed: 04/02/2025]
Abstract
Biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in microbial genomes play a crucial role in the biosynthesis of diverse secondary metabolites (SMs) with pharmaceutical potential. However, most BGCs remain silent under conventional conditions, resulting in the frequently repeated discovery of known SMs. Fortunately, in the past two decades, the heterologous expression of BGCs in genetically tractable hosts has emerged as a powerful strategy to awaken microbial metabolic pathways for making novel microbial SMs. In this review, we comprehensively delineated the development and application of this strategy, highlighting various BGC cloning and assembly techniques and their technical characteristics. We also summarized 519 novel SMs from BGC hetero-expression-derived strains and described their occurrence, bioactivity, mode of action, and biosynthetic logic. Lastly, current challenges and future perspectives for developing more efficient BGC hetero-expression strategies were discussed in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanyuan Liu
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - Yuqi Tang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - Zhiyang Fu
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - Wangjie Zhu
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - Hong Wang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - Huawei Zhang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China.
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4
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Augustijn HE, van Nassauw D, Cernat S, Reitz ZL, van Wezel GP, Medema MH. Regulatory Genes as Beacons for Discovery and Prioritization of Biosynthetic Gene Clusters in Streptomyces. Biochemistry 2025. [PMID: 40133269 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.4c00711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/27/2025]
Abstract
Actinobacteria are renowned for their ability to produce a wide range of bioactive molecules, including many anticancer compounds and antibiotics that are critical in the battle against antimicrobial resistance. Despite identification of a vast array of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) through genome mining, much of this biosynthetic potential remains unexplored, partially due to the fact that many remain silent or cryptic under typical laboratory conditions. Regulatory networks can provide clues to the location of yet undiscovered gene cluster families or be leveraged to predict their expression. Here, we investigate the associations between regulatory genes and BGCs to uncover their predictive capabilities in discovering and prioritizing gene clusters for downstream wet-lab validation. By analyzing the protein domain architectures of 128,993 potential regulators derived from 440 complete Streptomyces genomes, we uncovered various associations between biosynthetic classes, biological activities of their products, and regulator families. Specifically, subsets of the Streptomyces Antibiotic Regulatory Protein (SARP) and LuxR families were strongly associated with biosynthetic pathways encoding the production of bioactive compounds. After closer genomic inspection of the small SARPs, we discovered 82 putative SARP-associated BGCs that escaped detection by state-of-the-art software. This shows that continued exploration of regulatory systems will not only deepen our understanding of Actinobacteria's biosynthetic capabilities but also facilitates discovery and prioritization of high-potential BGCs in future genome-mining applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah E Augustijn
- Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
- Molecular Biotechnology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden 2333 BE, The Netherlands
| | - Daan van Nassauw
- Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - Simona Cernat
- Molecular Biotechnology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden 2333 BE, The Netherlands
| | - Zachary L Reitz
- Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - Gilles P van Wezel
- Molecular Biotechnology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden 2333 BE, The Netherlands
| | - Marnix H Medema
- Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
- Molecular Biotechnology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden 2333 BE, The Netherlands
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5
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Salamzade R, Kalan LR. Context matters: assessing the impacts of genomic background and ecology on microbial biosynthetic gene cluster evolution. mSystems 2025; 10:e0153824. [PMID: 39992097 PMCID: PMC11915812 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.01538-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2025] Open
Abstract
Encoded within many microbial genomes, biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) underlie the synthesis of various secondary metabolites that often mediate ecologically important functions. Several studies and bioinformatics methods developed over the past decade have advanced our understanding of both microbial pangenomes and BGC evolution. In this minireview, we first highlight challenges in broad evolutionary analysis of BGCs, including delineation of BGC boundaries and clustering of BGCs across genomes. We further summarize key findings from microbial comparative genomics studies on BGC conservation across taxa and habitats and discuss the potential fitness effects of BGCs in different settings. Afterward, recent research showing the importance of genomic context on the production of secondary metabolites and the evolution of BGCs is highlighted. These studies draw parallels to recent, broader, investigations on gene-to-gene associations within microbial pangenomes. Finally, we describe mechanisms by which microbial pangenomes and BGCs evolve, ranging from the acquisition or origination of entire BGCs to micro-evolutionary trends of individual biosynthetic genes. An outlook on how expansions in the biosynthetic capabilities of some taxa might support theories that open pangenomes are the result of adaptive evolution is also discussed. We conclude with remarks about how future work leveraging longitudinal metagenomics across diverse ecosystems is likely to significantly improve our understanding on the evolution of microbial genomes and BGCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rauf Salamzade
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Lindsay R. Kalan
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, David Braley Center for Antibiotic Discovery, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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6
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Cardona ST, Rahman ASMZ, Novomisky Nechcoff J. Innovative perspectives on the discovery of small molecule antibiotics. NPJ ANTIMICROBIALS AND RESISTANCE 2025; 3:19. [PMID: 40082593 PMCID: PMC11906701 DOI: 10.1038/s44259-025-00089-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2024] [Accepted: 02/24/2025] [Indexed: 03/16/2025]
Abstract
Antibiotics are essential to modern medicine, but multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections threaten their efficacy. Resistance evolution shortens antibiotic lifespans, limiting investment returns and slowing new approvals. Consequently, the WHO defines four innovation criteria: new chemical class, target, mode of action (MoA), and lack of cross-resistance. This review explores innovative discovery approaches, including AI-driven screening, metagenomics, and target-based strategies, to develop novel antibiotics that meet these criteria and combat MDR infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia T Cardona
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
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7
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Chen YN, Cui YZ, Chen XR, Wang JY, Li BZ, Yuan YJ. Direct cloning strategies for large genomic fragments: A review. Biotechnol Adv 2025; 79:108494. [PMID: 39637950 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2024.108494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Revised: 10/08/2024] [Accepted: 11/30/2024] [Indexed: 12/07/2024]
Abstract
Mining large-scale functional regions of the genome helps to understand the essence of cellular life. The rapid accumulation of genomic information provides a wealth of material for genomic functional, evolutionary, and structural research. DNA cloning technology is an important tool for understanding, analyzing, and manipulating the genetic code of organisms. As synthetic biologists engineer greater and broader genetic pathways and expand their research into new organisms, efficient tools capable of manipulating large-scale DNA will offer momentum to the ability to design, modify, and construct engineering life. In this review, we discuss the recent advances in the field of direct cloning of large genomic fragments, particularly of 50-150 kb genomic fragments. We specifically introduce the technological advances in the targeted release and capture steps of these cloning strategies. Additionally, the applications of large fragment cloning in functional genomics and natural product mining are also summarized. Finally, we further discuss the challenges and prospects for these technologies in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ya-Nan Chen
- Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; Frontiers Research Institute for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 30072, China
| | - You-Zhi Cui
- Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; Frontiers Research Institute for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 30072, China
| | - Xiang-Rong Chen
- Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; Frontiers Research Institute for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 30072, China
| | - Jun-Yi Wang
- Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; Frontiers Research Institute for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 30072, China
| | - Bing-Zhi Li
- Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; Frontiers Research Institute for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 30072, China.
| | - Ying-Jin Yuan
- Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; Frontiers Research Institute for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 30072, China
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8
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Lai HE, Woolner VH, Little RF, Woolly EF, Keyzers RA, Owen JG. Calcium-Dependent Lipopeptide Antibiotics against Drug-Resistant Pathogens Discovered via Host-Dependent Heterologous Expression of a Cloned Biosynthetic Gene Cluster. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202410286. [PMID: 39175099 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202410286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2024] [Revised: 08/17/2024] [Accepted: 08/20/2024] [Indexed: 08/24/2024]
Abstract
Historically, small molecules biosynthesised by bacteria have been an excellent source for antibacterial drugs. Today, however, the rediscovery of known compounds is a significant hurdle to developing new antimicrobials. Here we use a genome mining and synthetic biology approach to discover the ambocidins: calcium-dependent lipodepsipeptides that are active against drug-resistant Gram-positive pathogens. By cloning a silent biosynthetic gene cluster (the amb cluster) from Streptomyces ambofaciens ATCC 2387 and integrating this into the chromosome of Streptomyces avermitilis we induce expression of ambocidin A and B: two new Nϵ-hydroxyarginine-containing cyclic lipodepsipeptides active against drug-resistant Gram-positive pathogens. Using a panel of Streptomyces host strains, we show that the choice of heterologous host is critical for producing the biologically active compounds, and that inappropriate host choice leads to aberrant production inactive derivatives. We show that Nϵ-hydroxyarginine is the product of a heme-dependent oxygenase and that it enhances biological activity. Ambocidin A inhibits cell wall biosynthesis by binding to Lipid II at a different site than vancomycin. Furthermore, unlike daptomycin, ambocidin A retains potent antimicrobial activity in the presence of lung surfactant, giving it the potential to treat bacterial pneumonia. Our work expands the family of calcium-dependent lipopeptide antibiotics with a new member exhibiting a distinct mechanism of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hung-En Lai
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, 6012, Wellington, New Zealand
- Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, 1010, Auckland, New Zealand
- Centre for Biodiscovery, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, 6012, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - V Helen Woolner
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, 6012, Wellington, New Zealand
- Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, 1010, Auckland, New Zealand
- Centre for Biodiscovery, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, 6012, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Rory F Little
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, 6012, Wellington, New Zealand
- Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, 1010, Auckland, New Zealand
- Centre for Biodiscovery, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, 6012, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Ethan F Woolly
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, 6012, Wellington, New Zealand
- Centre for Biodiscovery, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, 6012, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Robert A Keyzers
- Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, 1010, Auckland, New Zealand
- Centre for Biodiscovery, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, 6012, Wellington, New Zealand
- School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, 6012, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Jeremy G Owen
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, 6012, Wellington, New Zealand
- Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, 1010, Auckland, New Zealand
- Centre for Biodiscovery, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, 6012, Wellington, New Zealand
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9
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Romano KP, Bagnall J, Warrier T, Sullivan J, Ferrara K, Orzechowski M, Nguyen PH, Raines K, Livny J, Shoresh N, Hung DT. Perturbation-specific transcriptional mapping for unbiased target elucidation of antibiotics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2409747121. [PMID: 39467118 PMCID: PMC11551328 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2409747121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2024] [Accepted: 09/23/2024] [Indexed: 10/30/2024] Open
Abstract
The rising prevalence of antibiotic resistance threatens human health. While more sophisticated strategies for antibiotic discovery are being developed, target elucidation of new chemical entities remains challenging. In the postgenomic era, expression profiling can play an important role in mechanism-of-action (MOA) prediction by reporting on the cellular response to perturbation. However, the broad application of transcriptomics has yet to fulfill its promise of transforming target elucidation due to challenges in identifying the most relevant, direct responses to target inhibition. We developed an unbiased strategy for MOA prediction, called perturbation-specific transcriptional mapping (PerSpecTM), in which large-throughput expression profiling of wild-type or hypomorphic mutants, depleted for essential targets, enables a computational strategy to address this challenge. We applied PerSpecTM to perform reference-based MOA prediction based on the principle that similar perturbations, whether chemical or genetic, will elicit similar transcriptional responses. Using this approach, we elucidated the MOAs of three molecules with activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa by comparing their expression profiles to those of a reference set of antimicrobial compounds with known MOAs. We also show that transcriptional responses to small-molecule inhibition resemble those resulting from genetic depletion of essential targets by clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats interference (CRISPRi) by PerSpecTM, demonstrating proof of concept that correlations between expression profiles of small-molecule and genetic perturbations can facilitate MOA prediction when no chemical entities exist to serve as a reference. Empowered by PerSpecTM, this work lays the foundation for an unbiased, readily scalable, systematic reference-based strategy for MOA elucidation that could transform antibiotic discovery efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith P. Romano
- The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA02142
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA02114
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA02115
| | - Josephine Bagnall
- The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA02142
| | - Thulasi Warrier
- The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA02142
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA02114
| | - Jaryd Sullivan
- The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA02142
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA02114
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
| | - Kristina Ferrara
- The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA02142
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA02114
| | - Marek Orzechowski
- The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA02142
| | - Phuong H. Nguyen
- The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA02142
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA02114
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
| | - Kyra Raines
- The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA02142
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA02114
| | - Jonathan Livny
- The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA02142
| | - Noam Shoresh
- The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA02142
| | - Deborah T. Hung
- The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA02142
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA02114
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
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10
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Paulo BS, Recchia MJJ, Lee S, Fergusson CH, Romanowski SB, Hernandez A, Krull N, Liu DY, Cavanagh H, Bos A, Gray CA, Murphy BT, Linington RG, Eustaquio AS. Discovery of megapolipeptins by genome mining of a Burkholderiales bacteria collection. Chem Sci 2024; 15:d4sc03594a. [PMID: 39309087 PMCID: PMC11411415 DOI: 10.1039/d4sc03594a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2024] [Accepted: 09/11/2024] [Indexed: 09/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Burkholderiales bacteria have emerged as a promising source of structurally diverse natural products that are expected to play important ecological and industrial roles. This order ranks in the top three in terms of predicted natural product diversity from available genomes, warranting further genome sequencing efforts. However, a major hurdle in obtaining the predicted products is that biosynthetic genes are often 'silent' or poorly expressed. Here we report complementary strain isolation, genomics, metabolomics, and synthetic biology approaches to enable natural product discovery. First, we built a collection of 316 rhizosphere-derived Burkholderiales strains over the course of five years. We then selected 115 strains for sequencing using the mass spectrometry pipeline IDBac to avoid strain redundancy. After predicting and comparing the biosynthetic potential of each strain, a biosynthetic gene cluster that was silent in the native Paraburkholderia megapolitana and Paraburkholderia acidicola producers was cloned and activated by heterologous expression in a Burkholderia sp. host, yielding megapolipeptins A and B. Megapolipeptins are unusual polyketide, nonribosomal peptide, and polyunsaturated fatty acid hybrids that show low structural similarity to known natural products, highlighting the advantage of our Burkholderiales genomics-driven and synthetic biology-enabled pipeline to discover novel natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno S Paulo
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago IL 60607 USA
- Center for Biomolecular Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago IL 60607 USA
| | | | - Sanghoon Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University Burnaby BC V5H 1S6 Canada
| | - Claire H Fergusson
- Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University Burnaby BC V5H 1S6 Canada
| | - Sean B Romanowski
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago IL 60607 USA
- Center for Biomolecular Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago IL 60607 USA
| | - Antonio Hernandez
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago IL 60607 USA
- Center for Biomolecular Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago IL 60607 USA
| | - Nyssa Krull
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago IL 60607 USA
| | - Dennis Y Liu
- Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University Burnaby BC V5H 1S6 Canada
| | - Hannah Cavanagh
- Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University Burnaby BC V5H 1S6 Canada
| | - Allyson Bos
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Brunswick Saint John New Brunswick E2L 4L5 Canada
| | - Christopher A Gray
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Brunswick Saint John New Brunswick E2L 4L5 Canada
| | - Brian T Murphy
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago IL 60607 USA
- Center for Biomolecular Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago IL 60607 USA
| | - Roger G Linington
- Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University Burnaby BC V5H 1S6 Canada
| | - Alessandra S Eustaquio
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago IL 60607 USA
- Center for Biomolecular Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago IL 60607 USA
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11
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Han JR, Li S, Li WJ, Dong L. Mining microbial and metabolic dark matter in extreme environments: a roadmap for harnessing the power of multi-omics data. ADVANCED BIOTECHNOLOGY 2024; 2:26. [PMID: 39883228 PMCID: PMC11740847 DOI: 10.1007/s44307-024-00034-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2024] [Revised: 07/18/2024] [Accepted: 07/26/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2025]
Abstract
Extreme environments such as hyperarid, hypersaline, hyperthermal environments, and the deep sea harbor diverse microbial communities, which are specially adapted to extreme conditions and are known as extremophiles. These extremophilic organisms have developed unique survival strategies, making them ideal models for studying microbial diversity, evolution, and adaptation to adversity. They also play critical roles in biogeochemical cycles. Additionally, extremophiles often produce novel bioactive compounds in response to corresponding challenging environments. Recent advances in technologies, including genomic sequencing and untargeted metabolomic analysis, have significantly enhanced our understanding of microbial diversity, ecology, evolution, and the genetic and physiological characteristics in extremophiles. The integration of advanced multi-omics technologies into culture-dependent research has notably improved the efficiency, providing valuable insights into the physiological functions and biosynthetic capacities of extremophiles. The vast untapped microbial resources in extreme environments present substantial opportunities for discovering novel natural products and advancing our knowledge of microbial ecology and evolution. This review highlights the current research status on extremophilic microbiomes, focusing on microbial diversity, ecological roles, isolation and cultivation strategies, and the exploration of their biosynthetic potential. Moreover, we emphasize the importance and potential of discovering more strain resources and metabolites, which would be boosted greatly by harnessing the power of multi-omics data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Rui Han
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, PR China
| | - Shuai Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, PR China
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Application in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, PR China
| | - Wen-Jun Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, PR China.
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Application in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, PR China.
| | - Lei Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, PR China.
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12
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Lewis K, Lee RE, Brötz-Oesterhelt H, Hiller S, Rodnina MV, Schneider T, Weingarth M, Wohlgemuth I. Sophisticated natural products as antibiotics. Nature 2024; 632:39-49. [PMID: 39085542 PMCID: PMC11573432 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07530-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024]
Abstract
In this Review, we explore natural product antibiotics that do more than simply inhibit an active site of an essential enzyme. We review these compounds to provide inspiration for the design of much-needed new antibacterial agents, and examine the complex mechanisms that have evolved to effectively target bacteria, including covalent binders, inhibitors of resistance, compounds that utilize self-promoted entry, those that evade resistance, prodrugs, target corrupters, inhibitors of 'undruggable' targets, compounds that form supramolecular complexes, and selective membrane-acting agents. These are exemplified by β-lactams that bind covalently to inhibit transpeptidases and β-lactamases, siderophore chimeras that hijack import mechanisms to smuggle antibiotics into the cell, compounds that are activated by bacterial enzymes to produce reactive molecules, and antibiotics such as aminoglycosides that corrupt, rather than merely inhibit, their targets. Some of these mechanisms are highly sophisticated, such as the preformed β-strands of darobactins that target the undruggable β-barrel chaperone BamA, or teixobactin, which binds to a precursor of peptidoglycan and then forms a supramolecular structure that damages the membrane, impeding the emergence of resistance. Many of the compounds exhibit more than one notable feature, such as resistance evasion and target corruption. Understanding the surprising complexity of the best antimicrobial compounds provides a roadmap for developing novel compounds to address the antimicrobial resistance crisis by mining for new natural products and inspiring us to design similarly sophisticated antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Lewis
- Antimicrobial Discovery Center, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Richard E Lee
- Department of Chemical Biology and Therapeutics, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
| | - Heike Brötz-Oesterhelt
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, Tubingen, Germany
- Controlling Microbes to Fight Infection-Cluster of Excellence, Tubingen, Germany
| | | | - Marina V Rodnina
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Tanja Schneider
- Institute for Pharmaceutical Microbiology, University of Bonn, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Cologne-Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Markus Weingarth
- Chemistry Department, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Ingo Wohlgemuth
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Goettingen, Germany
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13
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Romano KP, Bagnall J, Warrier T, Sullivan J, Ferrara K, Orzechowski M, Nguyen P, Raines K, Livny J, Shoresh N, Hung D. Perturbation-Specific Transcriptional Mapping for unbiased target elucidation of antibiotics. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.25.590978. [PMID: 38712067 PMCID: PMC11071498 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.25.590978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
The rising prevalence of antibiotic resistance threatens human health. While more sophisticated strategies for antibiotic discovery are being developed, target elucidation of new chemical entities remains challenging. In the post-genomic era, expression profiling can play an important role in mechanism-of-action (MOA) prediction by reporting on the cellular response to perturbation. However, the broad application of transcriptomics has yet to fulfill its promise of transforming target elucidation due to challenges in identifying the most relevant, direct responses to target inhibition. We developed an unbiased strategy for MOA prediction, called Perturbation-Specific Transcriptional Mapping (PerSpecTM), in which large-throughput expression profiling of wildtype or hypomorphic mutants, depleted for essential targets, enables a computational strategy to address this challenge. We applied PerSpecTM to perform reference-based MOA prediction based on the principle that similar perturbations, whether chemical or genetic, will elicit similar transcriptional responses. Using this approach, we elucidated the MOAs of three new molecules with activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa by comparing their expression profiles to those of a reference set of antimicrobial compounds with known MOAs. We also show that transcriptional responses to small molecule inhibition resemble those resulting from genetic depletion of essential targets by CRISPRi by PerSpecTM, demonstrating proof-of-concept that correlations between expression profiles of small molecule and genetic perturbations can facilitate MOA prediction when no chemical entities exist to serve as a reference. Empowered by PerSpecTM, this work lays the foundation for an unbiased, readily scalable, systematic reference-based strategy for MOA elucidation that could transform antibiotic discovery efforts.
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14
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Deng Z, Liu C, Wang F, Song N, Liu J, Li H, Liu S, Li T, Liu Z, Xiao F, Li W. A Versatile Thioesterase Involved in Dimerization during Cinnamoyl Lipid Biosynthesis. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202402010. [PMID: 38462490 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202402010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2024] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
The cinnamoyl lipid compound youssoufene A1 (1), featuring a unique dearomatic carbon-bridged dimeric skeleton, exhibits increased inhibition against multidrug resistant Enterococcus faecalis as compared to monomeric youssoufenes. However, the formation process of this intriguing dearomatization/dimerization remains unknown. In this study, an unusual "gene-within-gene" thioesterase (TE) gene ysfF was functionally characterized. The gene was found to naturally encodes two proteins, an entire YsfF with α/β-hydrolase and 4-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA thioesterase (4-HBT)-like enzyme domains, and a nested YsfFHBT (4-HBT-like enzyme). Using an intracellular tagged carrier-protein tracking (ITCT) strategy, in vitro reconstitution and in vivo experiments, we found that: i) both domains of YsfF displayed thioesterase activities; ii) YsfF/YsfFHBT could accomplish the 6π-electrocyclic ring closure for benzene ring formation; and iii) YsfF and cyclase YsfX together were responsible for the ACP-tethered dearomatization/dimerization process, possibly through an unprecedented Michael-type addition reaction. Moreover, site-directed mutagenesis experiments demonstrated that N301, E483 and H566 of YsfF are critical residues for both the 6π-electrocyclization and dimerization processes. This study enhances our understanding of the multifunctionality of the TE protein family.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zirong Deng
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products & Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Shandong, 266003, China
| | - Chunni Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products & Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Fang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Shandong, 266003, China
| | - Ni Song
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Shandong, 266003, China
| | - Jing Liu
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Shandong, 266003, China
| | - Huayue Li
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Shandong, 266003, China
- Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, Shandong, 266237, China
| | - Siyu Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products & Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Tong Li
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Shandong, 266003, China
| | - Zengzhi Liu
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Shandong, 266003, China
| | - Fei Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Shandong, 266003, China
| | - Wenli Li
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products & Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Shandong, 266003, China
- Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, Shandong, 266237, China
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15
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Cook GD, Stasulli NM. Employing synthetic biology to expand antibiotic discovery. SLAS Technol 2024; 29:100120. [PMID: 38340893 DOI: 10.1016/j.slast.2024.100120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacterial pathogens are a continually growing threat as our methods for combating these infections continue to be overcome by the evolution of resistance mechanisms. Recent therapeutic methods have not staved off the concern of AMR infections, so continued research focuses on new ways of identifying small molecules to treat AMR pathogens. While chemical modification of existing antibiotics is possible, there has been rapid development of resistance by pathogens that were initially susceptible to these compounds. Synthetic biology is becoming a key strategy in trying to predict and induce novel, natural antibiotics. Advances in cloning and mutagenesis techniques applied through a synthetic biology lens can help characterize the native regulation of antibiotic biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) to identify potential modifications leading to more potent antibiotic activity. Additionally, many cryptic antibiotic BGCs are derived from non-ribosomal peptide synthase (NRPS) and polyketide synthase (PKS) biosynthetic pathways; complex, clustered genetic sequences that give rise to amino acid-derived natural products. Synthetic biology can be applied to modify and metabolically engineer these enzyme-based systems to promote rapid and sustainable production of natural products and their variants. This review will focus on recent advances related to synthetic biology as applied to genetic pathway characterization and identification of antibiotics from naturally occurring BGCs. Specifically, we will summarize recent efforts to characterize BGCs via general genomic mutagenesis, endogenous gene expression, and heterologous gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greta D Cook
- Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of New Haven, 300 Boston Post Rd, Dodds Hall 316, West Haven 06516 USA
| | - Nikolas M Stasulli
- Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of New Haven, 300 Boston Post Rd, Dodds Hall 316, West Haven 06516 USA.
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16
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Peng H, Schmiederer J, Chen X, Panagiotou G, Kries H. Controlling Substrate- and Stereospecificity of Condensation Domains in Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetases. ACS Chem Biol 2024; 19:599-606. [PMID: 38395426 PMCID: PMC10949931 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.3c00678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) are sophisticated molecular machines that biosynthesize peptide drugs. In attempts to generate new bioactive compounds, some parts of NRPSs have been successfully manipulated, but especially the influence of condensation (C-)domains on substrate specificity remains enigmatic and poorly controlled. To understand the influence of C-domains on substrate preference, we extensively evaluated the peptide formation of C-domain mutants in a bimodular NRPS system. Thus, we identified three key mutations that govern the preference for stereoconfiguration and side-chain identity. These mutations show similar effects in three different C-domains (GrsB1, TycB1, and SrfAC) when di- or pentapeptides are synthesized in vitro or in vivo. Strikingly, mutation E386L allows the stereopreference to be switched from d- to l-configured donor substrates. Our findings provide valuable insights into how cryptic specificity filters in C-domains can be re-engineered to clear roadblocks for NRPS engineering and enable the production of novel bioactive compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huiyun Peng
- Junior
Research Group Biosynthetic Design of Natural Products, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and
Infection Biology (HKI), Beutenbergstr. 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Julian Schmiederer
- Junior
Research Group Biosynthetic Design of Natural Products, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and
Infection Biology (HKI), Beutenbergstr. 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Xiuqiang Chen
- Department
of Microbiome Dynamics, Leibniz Institute
for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (HKI), Beutenbergstr. 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Gianni Panagiotou
- Department
of Microbiome Dynamics, Leibniz Institute
for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (HKI), Beutenbergstr. 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Faculty
of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller
University, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Department
of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 999999 Hong Kong
SAR, China
| | - Hajo Kries
- Junior
Research Group Biosynthetic Design of Natural Products, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and
Infection Biology (HKI), Beutenbergstr. 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
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17
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Tay DWP, Tan LL, Heng E, Zulkarnain N, Ching KC, Wibowo M, Chin EJ, Tan ZYQ, Leong CY, Ng VWP, Yang LK, Seow DCS, Lim YW, Koh W, Koduru L, Kanagasundaram Y, Ng SB, Lim YH, Wong FT. Exploring a general multi-pronged activation strategy for natural product discovery in Actinomycetes. Commun Biol 2024; 7:50. [PMID: 38184720 PMCID: PMC10771470 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05648-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Natural products possess significant therapeutic potential but remain underutilized despite advances in genomics and bioinformatics. While there are approaches to activate and upregulate natural product biosynthesis in both native and heterologous microbial strains, a comprehensive strategy to elicit production of natural products as well as a generalizable and efficient method to interrogate diverse native strains collection, remains lacking. Here, we explore a flexible and robust integrase-mediated multi-pronged activation approach to reliably perturb and globally trigger antibiotics production in actinobacteria. Across 54 actinobacterial strains, our approach yielded 124 distinct activator-strain combinations which consistently outperform wild type. Our approach expands accessible metabolite space by nearly two-fold and increases selected metabolite yields by up to >200-fold, enabling discovery of Gram-negative bioactivity in tetramic acid analogs. We envision these findings as a gateway towards a more streamlined, accelerated, and scalable strategy to unlock the full potential of Nature's chemical repertoire.
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Grants
- NRF-CRP19-2017-05-00 National Research Foundation Singapore (National Research Foundation-Prime Minister's office, Republic of Singapore)
- NRF-CRP19-2017-05-00 National Research Foundation Singapore (National Research Foundation-Prime Minister's office, Republic of Singapore)
- NRF-CRP19-2017-05-00 National Research Foundation Singapore (National Research Foundation-Prime Minister's office, Republic of Singapore)
- NRF-CRP19-2017-05-00 National Research Foundation Singapore (National Research Foundation-Prime Minister's office, Republic of Singapore)
- NRF-CRP19-2017-05-00 National Research Foundation Singapore (National Research Foundation-Prime Minister's office, Republic of Singapore)
- NRF-CRP19-2017-05-00 National Research Foundation Singapore (National Research Foundation-Prime Minister's office, Republic of Singapore)
- NRF-CRP19-2017-05-00 National Research Foundation Singapore (National Research Foundation-Prime Minister's office, Republic of Singapore)
- NRF-CRP19-2017-05-00 National Research Foundation Singapore (National Research Foundation-Prime Minister's office, Republic of Singapore)
- C211917006 Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
- C233017006 Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
- C211917003 Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
- C211917006 Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
- C233017006 Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
- C211917006 Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
- National Research Foundation Singapore (National Research Foundation-Prime Minister’s office, Republic of Singapore)
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Affiliation(s)
- Dillon W P Tay
- Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 8 Biomedical Grove, #07-01 Neuros Building, Singapore, 138665, Republic of Singapore
| | - Lee Ling Tan
- Molecular Engineering Lab, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 61 Biopolis Drive, #07-06, Proteos, Singapore, 138673, Republic of Singapore
| | - Elena Heng
- Molecular Engineering Lab, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 61 Biopolis Drive, #07-06, Proteos, Singapore, 138673, Republic of Singapore
| | - Nadiah Zulkarnain
- Molecular Engineering Lab, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 61 Biopolis Drive, #07-06, Proteos, Singapore, 138673, Republic of Singapore
| | - Kuan Chieh Ching
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02, Nanos, Singapore, 138669, Republic of Singapore
| | - Mario Wibowo
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02, Nanos, Singapore, 138669, Republic of Singapore
| | - Elaine Jinfeng Chin
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02, Nanos, Singapore, 138669, Republic of Singapore
| | - Zann Yi Qi Tan
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02, Nanos, Singapore, 138669, Republic of Singapore
| | - Chung Yan Leong
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02, Nanos, Singapore, 138669, Republic of Singapore
| | - Veronica Wee Pin Ng
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02, Nanos, Singapore, 138669, Republic of Singapore
| | - Lay Kien Yang
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02, Nanos, Singapore, 138669, Republic of Singapore
| | - Deborah C S Seow
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02, Nanos, Singapore, 138669, Republic of Singapore
| | - Yi Wee Lim
- Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 8 Biomedical Grove, #07-01 Neuros Building, Singapore, 138665, Republic of Singapore
| | - Winston Koh
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, Singapore, 138671, Republic of Singapore
| | - Lokanand Koduru
- Molecular Engineering Lab, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 61 Biopolis Drive, #07-06, Proteos, Singapore, 138673, Republic of Singapore
| | - Yoganathan Kanagasundaram
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02, Nanos, Singapore, 138669, Republic of Singapore
| | - Siew Bee Ng
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #01-02, Nanos, Singapore, 138669, Republic of Singapore
| | - Yee Hwee Lim
- Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 8 Biomedical Grove, #07-01 Neuros Building, Singapore, 138665, Republic of Singapore.
- Synthetic Biology Translational Research Program, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 10 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117597, Republic of Singapore.
| | - Fong Tian Wong
- Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 8 Biomedical Grove, #07-01 Neuros Building, Singapore, 138665, Republic of Singapore.
- Molecular Engineering Lab, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 61 Biopolis Drive, #07-06, Proteos, Singapore, 138673, Republic of Singapore.
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18
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Bunyat-Zada AR, Ross AC. Highlights of bioinformatic tools and methods for validating bioinformatics derived hypotheses for microbial natural products research. Curr Opin Chem Biol 2023; 76:102367. [PMID: 37453164 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2023.102367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Historically, bacterial natural products have served as an excellent source of drug leads, however, in recent decades the rate of discovery has slowed due to multiple challenges. Rapid advances in genome sequencing science in recent years have revealed the vast untapped encoded potential of bacteria to make natural products. To access these molecules, researchers can employ the ever-growing array of bioinformatic tools at their disposal and leverage newly developed experimental approaches to validate these bioinformatic-driven hypotheses. When used together effectively, bioinformatic and experimental tools enable researchers to deeply examine the full diversity of bacterial natural products. This review briefly outlines recent bioinformatic tools that can facilitate natural product research in bacteria including the use of CRISPR, co-occurrence network analysis, and combinatorial generation of microbial natural products to test bioinformatic hypotheses in the lab.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir R Bunyat-Zada
- Department of Chemistry, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Avena C Ross
- Department of Chemistry, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada.
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19
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Egas C, Galbán-Malagón C, Castro-Nallar E, Molina-Montenegro MA. Role of Microbes in the degradation of organic semivolatile compounds in polar ecosystems: A review. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 879:163046. [PMID: 36965736 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
The Arctic and the Antarctic Continent correspond to two eco-regions with extreme climatic conditions. These regions are exposed to the presence of contaminants resulting from human activity (local and global), which, in turn, represent a challenge for life forms in these environments. Anthropogenic pollution by semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in polar ecosystems has been documented since the 1960s. Currently, various studies have shown the presence of SVOCs and their bioaccumulation and biomagnification in the polar regions with negative effects on biodiversity and the ecosystem. Although the production and use of these compounds has been regulated, their persistence continues to threaten biodiversity and the ecosystem. Here, we summarize the current literature regarding microbes and SVOCs in polar regions and pose that bioremediation by native microorganisms is a feasible strategy to mitigate the presence of SVOCs. Our systematic review revealed that microbial communities in polar environments represent a wide reservoir of biodiversity adapted to extreme conditions, found both in terrestrial and aquatic environments, freely or in association with vegetation. Microorganisms adapted to these environments have the potential for biodegradation of SVOCs through a variety of genes encoding enzymes with the capacity to metabolize SVOCs. We suggest that a comprehensive approach at the molecular and ecological level is required to mitigate SVOCs presence in these regions. This is especially patent when considering that SVOCs degrade at slow rates and possess the ability to accumulate in polar ecosystems. The implications of SVOC degradation are relevant for the preservation of polar ecosystems with consequences at a global level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Egas
- Centre for Integrative Ecology (CIE), Universidad de Talca, Campus Lircay, Talca, Chile; Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas (ICB), Universidad de Talca, Campus Lircay, Talca, Chile
| | - Cristóbal Galbán-Malagón
- Centro de Genómica, Ecología y Medio Ambiente (GEMA), Universidad Mayor, Campus Huechuraba, Santiago, Chile; Institute of Environment, Florida International University, University Park, Miami, FL 33199, USA
| | - Eduardo Castro-Nallar
- Centre for Integrative Ecology (CIE), Universidad de Talca, Campus Lircay, Talca, Chile; Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Talca, Campus Lircay, Talca, Chile
| | - Marco A Molina-Montenegro
- Centre for Integrative Ecology (CIE), Universidad de Talca, Campus Lircay, Talca, Chile; Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas (ICB), Universidad de Talca, Campus Lircay, Talca, Chile; Centro de Investigación en Estudios Avanzados del Maule (CIEAM), Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile.
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Kadjo AE, Eustáquio AS. Bacterial natural product discovery by heterologous expression. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2023; 50:kuad044. [PMID: 38052428 PMCID: PMC10727000 DOI: 10.1093/jimb/kuad044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
Natural products have found important applications in the pharmaceutical and agricultural sectors. In bacteria, the genes that encode the biosynthesis of natural products are often colocalized in the genome, forming biosynthetic gene clusters. It has been predicted that only 3% of natural products encoded in bacterial genomes have been discovered thus far, in part because gene clusters may be poorly expressed under laboratory conditions. Heterologous expression can help convert bioinformatics predictions into products. However, challenges remain, such as gene cluster prioritization, cloning of the complete gene cluster, high level expression, product identification, and isolation of products in practical yields. Here we reviewed the literature from the past 5 years (January 2018 to June 2023) to identify studies that discovered natural products by heterologous expression. From the 50 studies identified, we present analyses of the rationale for gene cluster prioritization, cloning methods, biosynthetic class, source taxa, and host choice. Combined, the 50 studies led to the discovery of 63 new families of natural products, supporting heterologous expression as a promising way to access novel chemistry. However, the success rate of natural product detection varied from 11% to 32% based on four large-scale studies that were part of the reviewed literature. The low success rate makes it apparent that much remains to be improved. The potential reasons for failure and points to be considered to improve the chances of success are discussed. ONE-SENTENCE SUMMARY At least 63 new families of bacterial natural products were discovered using heterologous expression in the last 5 years, supporting heterologous expression as a promising way to access novel chemistry; however, the success rate is low (11-32%) making it apparent that much remains to be improved-we discuss the potential reasons for failure and points to be considered to improve the chances of success. BioRender was used to generate the graphical abstract figure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adjo E Kadjo
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
- Center for Biomolecular Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
| | - Alessandra S Eustáquio
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
- Center for Biomolecular Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
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