An ergot alkaloid biosynthesis gene and clustered hypothetical genes from Aspergillus fumigatus

The ergot alkaloids are a family of indole-derived mycotoxins with a variety of significant biological activities. Aspergillus fumigatus, a common airborne fungus and opportunistic human pathogen, and several fungi in the relatively distant taxon Clavicipitaceae (clavicipitaceous fungi) produce different sets of ergot alkaloids. The ergot alkaloids of these divergent fungi share a four-member ergoline ring but differ in the number, type, and position of the side chains. Several genes required for ergot alkaloid production are known in the clavicipitaceous fungi, and these genes are clustered in the genome of the ergot fungus Claviceps purpurea. We investigated whether the ergot alkaloids of A. fumigatus have a common biosynthetic and genetic origin with those of the clavicipitaceous fungi. A homolog of dmaW, the gene controlling the determinant step in the ergot alkaloid pathway of clavicipitaceous fungi, was identified in the A. fumigatus genome. Knockout of dmaW eliminated all known ergot alkaloids from A. fumigatus, and complementation of the mutation restored ergot alkaloid production. Clustered with dmaW in the A. fumigatus genome are sequences corresponding to five genes previously proposed to encode steps in the ergot alkaloid pathway of C. purpurea, as well as additional sequences whose deduced protein products are consistent with their involvement in the ergot alkaloid pathway. The corresponding genes have similarities in their nucleotide sequences, but the orientations and positions within the cluster of several of these genes differ. The data indicate that the ergot alkaloid biosynthetic capabilities in A. fumigatus and the clavicipitaceous fungi had a common origin.