Open AccessSelf-Protection against the Sphingolipid Biosynthesis Inhibitor Fumonisin B 1 Is Conferred by a FUM Cluster-Encoded Ceramide Synthase
Author(s) -
Slavica Janevska,
Iuliia Ferling,
Katarina Jojić,
Julia Rautschek,
Sandra Hoefgen,
Robert H. Proctor,
Falk Hillmann,
Vito Valiante
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
mbio
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.562
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 2161-2129
pISSN - 2150-7511
DOI - 10.1128/mbio.00455-20
Subject(s) - ceramide synthase , biosynthesis , fumonisin b1 , ceramide , fumonisin , sphingolipid , endoplasmic reticulum , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , cytosol , gene cluster , mycotoxin , gene , enzyme , apoptosis , botany
The biosynthesis of fungal natural products is highly regulated not only in terms of transcription and translation but also regarding the cellular localization of the biosynthetic pathway. In all eukaryotes, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is involved in the production of organelles, which are subject to cellular traffic or secretion. Here, we show that inFusarium verticillioides , early steps in fumonisin production take place in the ER, together with ceramide biosynthesis, which is targeted by the mycotoxin. A first level of self-protection is given by the presence of aFUM cluster-encoded ceramide synthase, Fum18, hitherto uncharacterized. In addition, the final fumonisin biosynthetic step occurs in the cytosol and is thereby spatially separate from the fungal ceramide synthases. We suggest that these strategies help the fungus to avoid self-poisoning during mycotoxin production.