A widespread metabolic gene cluster family in metazoans
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View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.Scientists discovered a conserved five-gene cluster in octocorals responsible for producing briarane diterpenoids. This finding shows animals utilize gene clusters for specialized metabolite biosynthesis, similar to plants and microbes.
Area Of Science
- Marine biology
- Natural product chemistry
- Genomics
Background
- Octocorals are prolific producers of diverse terpenoid natural products.
- These cnidarians express terpene cyclases, with encoding genes often found in biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs).
Purpose Of The Study
- To discover and characterize the gene cluster family responsible for briarane diterpenoid biosynthesis in octocorals.
- To investigate the genomic basis of specialized metabolite production in marine invertebrates.
Main Methods
- Genome sequencing of five evolutionarily distinct octocoral families.
- Heterologous expression of identified genes to reconstitute biosynthetic pathways.
Main Results
- A conserved five-gene cluster for briarane diterpenoid biosynthesis was identified across different octocoral families.
- Successful reconstitution of cembrene B γ-lactone biosynthesis, a key briarane diterpenoid, in a heterologous host.
Conclusions
- Animals, specifically octocorals, utilize gene cluster families for specialized metabolite production.
- The discovery of BGCs in octocorals highlights the widespread nature of these gene clusters in nature.
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