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Summary  Perylenequinones are a family of structurally related polyketide fungal toxins with nearly universal toxicity. These photosensitizing compounds absorb light energy which enables them to generate reactive oxygen species that damage host cells. This potent mechanism serves as an effective weapon for plant pathogens in disease or niche establishment. The sugar beet pathogen  Cercospora beticola  secretes the perylenequinone cercosporin during infection. We have shown recently that the cercosporin toxin biosynthesis ( CTB ) gene cluster is present in several other phytopathogenic fungi, prompting the search for biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) of structurally similar perylenequinones in other fungi. Here, we report the identification of the elsinochrome and phleichrome BGCs of  Elsinoë fawcettii  and  Cladosporium phlei , respectively, based on gene cluster conservation with the  CTB  and hypocrellin BGCs. Furthermore, we show that previously reported BGCs for elsinochrome and phleichrome are involved in melanin production. Phylogenetic analysis of the corresponding melanin polyketide synthases (PKSs) and alignment of melanin BGCs revealed high conservation between the established and newly identified  C. beticola ,  E. fawcettii  and  C. phlei  melanin BGCs. Mutagenesis of the identified perylenequinone and melanin PKSs in  C. beticola  and  E. fawcettii  coupled with mass spectrometric metabolite analyses confirmed their roles in toxin and melanin production.

Gene cluster conservation identifies melanin and perylenequinone biosynthesis pathways in multiple plant pathogenic fungi