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Functional analysis of an indole‐diterpene gene cluster for lolitrem B biosynthesis in the grass endosymbiont Epichloë festucae
Author(s) -
Saikia Sanjay,
Takemoto Daigo,
Tapper Brian A.,
Lane Geoff A.,
Fraser Karl,
Scott Barry
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2012.06.035
Subject(s) - diterpene , biology , gene , gene cluster , mutant , locus (genetics) , genome , genetics , biosynthesis , biochemistry
Epichloë festucae Fl1 in association with Lolium perenne synthesizes a diverse range of indole‐diterpene bioprotective metabolites, including lolitrem B, a potent tremorgen. The ltm genes responsible for the synthesis of these metabolites are organized in three clusters at a single sub‐telomeric locus in the genome of E. festucae . Here we resolve the genetic basis for the remarkable indole‐diterpene diversity observed in planta by analyzing products that accumulate in associations containing ltm deletion mutants of E. festucae and in cells of Penicillium paxilli containing copies of these genes under the control of a P. paxilli biosynthetic gene promoter. We propose a biosynthetic scheme to account for this metabolic diversity.