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Cover Picture: Identification of the Verruculogen Prenyltransferase FtmPT3 by a Combination of Chemical, Bioinformatic and Biochemical Approaches (ChemBioChem 17/2012)
Author(s) -
Mundt Kathrin,
Wollinsky Beate,
Ruan HanLi,
Zhu Tianjiao,
Li ShuMing
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
chembiochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.05
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 1439-7633
pISSN - 1439-4227
DOI - 10.1002/cbic.201290070
Subject(s) - prenyltransferase , aspergillus fumigatus , gene , biology , gene cluster , genome , biochemistry , fungus , secondary metabolite , biosynthesis , genetics , computational biology , microbiology and biotechnology , botany
The cover picture shows a successful strategy to identify secondary‐metabolite biosynthetic genes by a combination of chemical, bioinformatics, and biochemical approaches. After isolation and identification of several metabolites of the fumitremorgin‐type alkaloids, especially of fumitremorgin A, from cultures of the ascomycetous fungus Neosartorya fischeri NRRL181, S.‐M. Li et al. identified a putative prenyltransferase gene ftmPT3 in its genome sequence. Biochemical investigation of the recombinant FtmPT3 proved its role in the conversion of verruculogen to fumitremorgin A. Comparison of the genome sequence of N. fischeri with that of its close relative Aspergillus fumigatus revealed that both fungi contain genes for the biosynthesis of verruculogen and that ftmPT3 is located on a different fragment in N. fischeri than in the identified verruculogen cluster. No homologue gene was identified in the genome sequences of A. fumigatus strains, thus providing evidence for the accumulation of verruculogen as the end product of the biosynthetic pathway of fumitremorgin‐type alkaloids in A. fumigatus. See p. 2583 ff. for more details.