Transcriptome Analysis Identifies a Gene Cluster for the Biosynthesis of Biruloquinone, a Rare Phenanthraquinone, in a Lichen-Forming Fungus Cladonia macilentaopen access
- Authors
- Kim, Wonyong; Jeong, Min-Hye; Yun, Sung-Hwan; Hur, Jae-Seoun
- Issue Date
- May-2021
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Keywords
- biruloquinone; Cladonia; polyketide; PKS; secondary metabolite
- Citation
- Journal of Fungi, v.7, no.5
- Journal Title
- Journal of Fungi
- Volume
- 7
- Number
- 5
- URI
- https://scholarworks.bwise.kr/sch/handle/2021.sw.sch/18867
- DOI
- 10.3390/jof7050398
- ISSN
- 2309-608X
- Abstract
- Lichens are prolific producers of natural products of polyketide origin. We previously described a culture of lichen-forming fungus (LFF) Cladonia macilenta that produces biruloquinone, a purple pigment that is a phenanthraquinone rarely found in nature. However, there was no genetic information on the biosynthesis of biruloquinone. To identify a biosynthetic gene cluster for biruloquinone, we mined polyketide synthase (PKS) genes from the genome sequence of a LFF isolated from thalli of C. macilenta. The 38 PKS in C. macilenta are highly diverse, many of which form phylogenetic clades with PKS previously characterized in non-lichenized fungi. We compared transcriptional profiles of the 38 PKS genes in two chemotypic variants, one producing biruloquinone and the other producing no appreciable metabolite in vitro. We identified a PKS gene (hereafter PKS21) that was highly upregulated in the LFF that produces biruloquinone. The boundaries of a putative biruloquinone gene cluster were demarcated by co-expression patterns of six clustered genes, including the PKS21. Biruloquinone gene clusters exhibited a high degree of synteny between related species. In this study we identified a novel PKS family responsible for the biosynthesis of biruloquinone through whole-transcriptome analysis.
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