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Journal of Bacteriology, July 1999, p. 4089-4097, Vol. 181, No. 13
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Nonribosomal Peptide Synthesis and Toxigenicity
of Cyanobacteria
Brett A.
Neilan,1,2,*
Elke
Dittmann,2
Leo
Rouhiainen,3
R. Amanda
Bass,1
Verena
Schaub,2
Kaarina
Sivonen,3 and
Thomas
Börner2
School of Microbiology and Immunology, The
University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, New South Wales,
Australia1; Institute for Biology
(Genetics), Humboldt University of Berlin, D-10115 Berlin,
Germany2; and Department of Applied
Chemistry and Microbiology, University of Helsinki, FIN-00014 Helsinki,
Finland3
Received 14 December 1998/Accepted 21 April 1999
Nonribosomal peptide synthesis is achieved in prokaryotes and lower
eukaryotes by the thiotemplate function of large, modular enzyme
complexes known collectively as peptide synthetases. These and
other multifunctional enzyme complexes, such as polyketide synthases, are of interest due to their use in unnatural-product or
combinatorial biosynthesis (R. McDaniel, S. Ebert-Khosla, D. A. Hopwood, and C. Khosla, Science 262:1546-1557, 1993; T. Stachelhaus, A. Schneider, and M. A. Marahiel, Science 269:69-72,
1995). Most nonribosomal peptides from microorganisms are
classified as secondary metabolites; that is, they rarely have a role
in primary metabolism, growth, or reproduction but have evolved to
somehow benefit the producing organisms. Cyanobacteria produce a
myriad array of secondary metabolites, including alkaloids,
polyketides, and nonribosomal peptides, some of which are potent
toxins. This paper addresses the molecular genetic basis of
nonribosomal peptide synthesis in diverse species of cyanobacteria.
Amplification of peptide synthetase genes was achieved by use of
degenerate primers directed to conserved functional motifs of these
modular enzyme complexes. Specific detection of the gene cluster
encoding the biosynthetic pathway of the cyanobacterial toxin
microcystin was shown for both cultured and uncultured samples. Blot
hybridizations, DNA amplifications, sequencing, and evolutionary
analysis revealed a broad distribution of peptide synthetase gene
orthologues in cyanobacteria. The results demonstrate a molecular
approach to assessing preexpression microbial functional diversity in
uncultured cyanobacteria. The nonribosomal peptide biosynthetic
pathways detected may lead to the discovery and engineering of novel
antibiotics, immunosuppressants, or antiviral agents.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of
Microbiology and Immunology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney
2052, NSW, Australia. Phone: 612 9385 3235. Fax: 612 9385 1591. E-mail: b.neilan{at}unsw.edu.au.
Journal of Bacteriology, July 1999, p. 4089-4097, Vol. 181, No. 13
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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