Genome Mining and Heterologous Expression Reveal Two Distinct Families of Lasso Peptides Highly Conserved in Endofungal Bacteria

ACS Chem Biol. 2020 May 15;15(5):1169-1176. doi: 10.1021/acschembio.9b00805. Epub 2019 Dec 18.

Abstract

Genome mining identified the fungal-bacterial endosymbiosis Rhizopus microsporus-Mycetohabitans (previously Burkholderia) rhizoxinica as a rich source of novel natural products. However, most of the predicted compounds have remained cryptic. In this study, we employed heterologous expression to isolate and characterize three ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides with lariat topology (lasso peptides) from the endosymbiont M. rhizoxinica: burhizin-23, mycetohabin-16, and mycetohabin-15. Through coexpression experiments, it was shown that an orphan gene product results in mature mycetohabin-15, albeit encoded remotely from the core biosynthetic gene cluster. Comparative genomics revealed that mycetohabins are highly conserved among M. rhizoxinica and related endosymbiotic bacteria. Gene knockout and reinfection experiments indicated that the lasso peptides are not crucial for establishing symbiosis; instead, the peptides are exported into the environment during endosymbiosis. This is the first report on lasso peptides from endosymbiotic bacteria.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biological Products / chemistry
  • Burkholderiaceae / chemistry*
  • Burkholderiaceae / genetics*
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Gene Knockout Techniques
  • Genome, Bacterial
  • Genomics
  • Humans
  • Multigene Family
  • Mutation
  • Peptides / chemistry*
  • Peptides / genetics*
  • Protein Biosynthesis
  • Protein Processing, Post-Translational
  • Rhizopus / chemistry*
  • Rhizopus / genetics*
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Symbiosis

Substances

  • Biological Products
  • Peptides

Supplementary concepts

  • Rhizopus microsporus