In silico prediction and characterisation of secondary metabolite clusters in the plant pathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae

Abstract

Fungi are renowned producers of natural compounds, also known as secondary metabolites (SMs) that display a wide array of biological activities. Typically, the genes that are involved in the biosynthesis of SMs are located in close proximity to each other in so-called secondary metabolite clusters (SMCs). Many plant-pathogenic fungi secrete SMs during infection in order to promote disease establishment, for instance as cytocoxic compounds. Verticillium dahliae is a notorious plant pathogen that can infect over 200 host plants worldwide. However, the SM repertoire of this vascular pathogen remains mostly uncharted. To unravel the SM potential of V. dahliae, we performed in silico predictions and in-depth analyses of its SM clusters (SMC). We identified 25 potential SMCs in the V. dahliae genome, including loci that can be implicated in DHN-melanin, ferricrocin, triacetyl fusarinine and fujikurin production.