Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis

This study identifies cyclo(Pro-Tyr) as a metabolite that disrupts eukaryotic cellular membranes by targeting Pma1 ATPase in microdomains, inducing oxidative stress and membrane fluidity changes in fungi and nematodes.

The paper develops a bioinformatic pipeline to predict bacterial siderophore structures and receptors from genome sequences, revealing significant diversity in pyoverdines and their receptors.

This study enhances FK520 production in Streptomyces hygroscopicus by adding n-butanol, increasing yield by 1.72-fold and boosting precursor accumulation.

This study identifies trans-δ-viniferins as promising anti-infective scaffolds against Mycobacterium marinum using a Dictyostelium discoideum infection model and natural product derivatives.

The paper identifies and expresses two functional 4-O-dimethylallyl-L-tyrosine synthases from lichen-forming fungi, revealing their substrate specificity and potential for biocatalytic applications.

This paper identifies anthraquinones in Thermomyces dupontii as regulators of iron excretion, sterol-mediated endocytosis, and iron storage under cold stress.

This study identifies 3,7-dihydroxytropolone as a new antimicrobial compound produced by Pseudomonas, revealing its biosynthesis pathway and ecological relevance.

This study identifies and characterizes XrdM, an amide methyltransferase involved in dithiolopyrrolone antibiotic biosynthesis, and shows it is distinct from DtpM in structure and function.

The paper investigates intermodular communication in polyketide biosynthesis using cryo-EM and crosslinking, revealing structural insights for designing hybrid synthases.

The paper identifies giant polyketide synthase genes in Prymnesium parvum that biosynthesize large polyether toxins, resolving a long-standing biosynthetic mystery.

This paper demonstrates the in vivo synthesis of complex arthrocolins in E. coli using oxygen-mediated free radical reactions triggered by phenols, and identifies novel bioactive compounds.

This study investigates how polyketide synthase thioesterase domains direct substrate nucleophiles for macrolactone formation by analyzing structural and functional properties of modified TEs.

This study identifies oxydifficidin as a potent antibiotic against Neisseria gonorrhoeae, effective against drug-resistant strains, due to DedA-mediated uptake and sensitivity to ribosomal protein RplL.

This paper characterizes ArsL, a noncanonical radical SAM enzyme involved in arsinothricin biosynthesis, showing it cleaves SAM to generate an ACP radical and reconstitutes the pathway in vitro.

This paper reports a new indolocarbazole biosynthetic pathway in Streptomyces venezuelae and identifies a regioselective C-5 hydroxylating enzyme.

The paper identifies a new family of RiPPs in lactic acid bacteria biosynthetic gene clusters, revealing a novel adenylyltransferase mechanism for macrocyclic imide formation.

The paper reports an expression system for producing lanthipeptides and cytolysin L derivatives in mammalian cells and demonstrates their nuclear targeting.

This study investigates the evolution of secondary metabolism in Escovopsis and related fungi, revealing unique biosynthetic pathways linked to their symbiotic lifestyle with fungus-growing ants.

This study investigates microbial secondary metabolites on black apples, revealing high diversity and ecological roles, with many compounds previously unknown.

The paper determines the structure of the thioesterase domain of SulM and its complex with the upstream carrier protein domain, revealing a constrained active site for β-lactam formation.

This study discovers new Avi(Me)Cys-containing cyclopeptide antibiotics effective against drug-resistant bacteria using genome mining and metabolomics.

This paper improves the expression of a type III polyketide synthase in cell-free systems by optimizing codon usage and promoters, showing better results than traditional codon optimization.

The paper provides over 1,000 high-quality Actinomycetia genomes, revealing genomic structures and biosynthetic gene cluster organization with ecological and biotechnological implications.

This study identifies a lantibiotic dehydratase that catalyzes peptide bond formation in the opposite direction of NRPS and PKS biosynthesis, revealing its role as a separate amide bond-forming machinery.

This study uses single-molecule microscopy to show that PvdL is localized at the inner membrane and co-localizes with other NRPSs, suggesting it orchestrates their assembly in pyoverdine biosynthesis.

The paper identifies and characterizes enzymes involved in N-hydroxypyrrole biosynthesis, revealing new insights into the formation of unique functional groups in natural products.

This study characterizes the porcine skin microbiome, identifies antifungal bacterial isolates, and discovers novel fungal and bacterial species with potential for antifungal applications.

The paper identifies key interactions in the enzymatic complex responsible for converting cysteine to thiazole in micrococcin biosynthesis, revealing a dynamic mechanism involving transient associations between scaffold and modifying enzymes.

This study analyzes PTM biosynthetic clusters to uncover their phylogenetic diversity and functional complexity, revealing gaps in bioinformatics predictions and highlighting challenges in genomic discovery.

The paper identifies a consistent specialized metabolome in Trichodesmium thiebautii blooms and isolates a new macrocyclic compound, suggesting potential ecological roles for these metabolites.