Direct Evidence of Microbial Sunscreen Production by Scum-Forming Cyanobacteria in the Baltic Sea.

Mycosporine-like amino acids are water-soluble secondary metabolites that protect photosynthetic microorganisms from ultraviolet radiation. Here, we present direct evidence for the production of these compounds in surface scums of cyanobacteria along the Baltic Sea coast. We collected 59 environmental samples from the southern coast of Finland during the summers of 2021 and 2022 and analysed them using high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Neptunizhulides, Cryptic -AT Polyketide Synthase-Derived Metabolites from NBU2194.

Genome mining of NBU2194 resulted in the identification of a family of 17-membered macrolides, neptunizhulides A-F. Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis. Stereochemical assignments of the neptunizhulides were determined by -based configuration analysis, ROESY NMR, Mosher's ester derivatization, and bioinformatic predictions.

Oxidative stress and culture atmosphere effects on bioactive compounds and laccase activity in the white rot fungus on birch wood substrate.

Wood-decaying white rot fungi live in changing environmental conditions and may switch from aerobic to fermentative metabolism under oxygen depletion. Decomposition of wood and lignocellulose by fungi is dependent on enzymatic and oxidative biochemistry including generation of reactive oxygen species. In this study, we subjected semi-solid wood-substrate cultures of the white rot fungus to oxidative stress by addition of hydrogen peroxide under aerobic and anaerobic cultivation conditions.

A refactored biosynthetic pathway for the production of glycosylated microbial sunscreens.

Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) are a family of water-soluble and colorless secondary metabolites, with high extinction coefficients, that function as microbial sunscreens. MAAs share a cyclohexinimine chromophore that is diversified through amino acid substitutions and attachment of sugar moieties. The genetic and enzymatic bases for the chemical diversity of MAAs remain largely unexplored.

Identification of a homoarginine biosynthetic gene from a microcystin biosynthetic pathway in Fischerella sp. PCC 9339.

Microcystins (MCs) are a family of chemically diverse toxins produced by numerous distantly related cyanobacteria. They are potent inhibitors of eukaryotic protein phosphatases 1 and 2A and are responsible for the toxicosis and death of wild and domestic animals around the world. Microcystins are synthesized on large enzyme complexes comprised of peptide synthetases, polyketide synthases, and additional modifying enzymes.

A Plastic Biosynthetic Pathway for the Production of Structurally Distinct Microbial Sunscreens.

Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) are small, colorless, and water-soluble secondary metabolites. They have high molar extinction coefficients and a unique UV radiation absorption mechanism that make them effective sunscreens. Here we report the discovery of two structurally distinct MAAs from the lichen symbiont strain sp.

A cylindrospermopsin-producing cyanobacterium isolated from a microbial mat in the Baltic Sea.

Toxic benthic mats of cyanobacteria are associated with water quality problems and animal poisonings around the world. A strain of the filamentous cyanobacterial genus Kamptonema was isolated from a water bloom in the Baltic Sea four decades ago and later shown to produce cylindrospermopsins. However, the exact habitat of this strain remains unclear and cylindrospermopsins have not yet been reported from water blooms in the Baltic Sea.

Biochemical characterization of a cyanobactin arginine--prenylase from the autumnalamide biosynthetic pathway.

Cyanobactins are linear and cyclic post-translationally modified peptides. Here we show that the prenyl-D-Arg-containing autumnalamide A is a member of the cyanobactin family. Biochemical assays demonstrate that the AutF prenyltransferase targets the guanidinium moiety in arginine and homoarginine and is a useful tool for biotechnological applications.

Microbial Communities of Lichens and Their Biosynthetic Gene Clusters Potentially Encoding Natural Products.

Lichens have been widely used in traditional medicine, especially by indigenous communities worldwide. However, their slow growth and difficulties in the isolation of lichen symbionts and associated microbes have hindered the pharmaceutical utilisation of lichen-produced compounds. Advances in high-throughput sequencing techniques now permit detailed investigations of the complex microbial communities formed by fungi, green algae, cyanobacteria, and other bacteria within the lichen thalli.

The structure and biosynthesis of heinamides A1-A3 and B1-B5, antifungal members of the laxaphycin lipopeptide family.

Laxaphycins are a family of cyclic lipopeptides with synergistic antifungal and antiproliferative activities. They are produced by multiple cyanobacterial genera and comprise two sets of structurally unrelated 11- and 12-residue macrocyclic lipopeptides. Here, we report the discovery of new antifungal laxaphycins from Nostoc sp.

Shared PKS Module in Biosynthesis of Synergistic Laxaphycins.

Cyanobacteria produce a wide range of lipopeptides that exhibit potent membrane-disrupting activities. Laxaphycins consist of two families of structurally distinct macrocyclic lipopeptides that act in a synergistic manner to produce antifungal and antiproliferative activities. Laxaphycins are produced by range of cyanobacteria but their biosynthetic origins remain unclear.

Dereplication of Natural Products with Antimicrobial and Anticancer Activity from Brazilian Cyanobacteria.

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic organisms that produce a large diversity of natural products with interesting bioactivities for biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications. Cyanobacterial extracts exhibit toxicity towards other microorganisms and cancer cells and, therefore, represent a source of potentially novel natural products for drug discovery. We tested 62 cyanobacterial strains isolated from various Brazilian biomes for antileukemic and antimicrobial activities.

Biosynthesis of the Bis-Prenylated Alkaloids Muscoride A and B.

Prenylation is a common step in the biosynthesis of many natural products and plays an important role in increasing their structural diversity and enhancing biological activity. Muscoride A is a linear peptide alkaloid that contain two contiguous oxazoles and unusual prenyl groups that protect the amino- and carboxy-termini. Here we identified the 12.

A Report on Finding a New Peptide Aldehyde from Cyanobacterium Bahar M by LC-MS and Marfey's Analysis.

Background: Cyanobacteria have a worldwide distribution in the terrestrial habitats, occurring predominantly on the surface of the soils, stones, rocks, and trees, practically in moist, neutral or alkaline aeries. The unique natural and bioactive compounds from cyanobacteria with various biological activities and an extensive range of chemical classes have a significant capability for expansion of the pharmaceuticals and other biomedical purposes.

Objectives: Regardless of the progresses in our knowledge on cyanobacteria, however, cyanobacteria are still viewed as an unexplored source of potential drugs.

Characterization of the interaction of the antifungal and cytotoxic cyclic glycolipopeptide hassallidin with sterol-containing lipid membranes.

Hassallidins are cyclic glycolipopeptides produced by cyanobacteria and other prokaryotes. The hassallidin structure consists of a peptide ring of eight amino acids where a fatty acid chain, additional amino acids, and sugar moieties are attached. Hassallidins show antifungal activity against several opportunistic human pathogenic fungi, but does not harbor antibacterial effects.

The Biosynthesis of Rare Homo-Amino Acid Containing Variants of Microcystin by a Benthic Cyanobacterium.

Microcystins are a family of chemically diverse hepatotoxins produced by distantly related cyanobacteria and are potent inhibitors of eukaryotic protein phosphatases 1 and 2A. Here we provide evidence for the biosynthesis of rare variants of microcystin that contain a selection of homo-amino acids by the benthic strain sp. LP904c.

Insight into the genome and brackish water adaptation strategies of toxic and bloom-forming Baltic Sea Dolichospermum sp. UHCC 0315.

The Baltic Sea is a shallow basin of brackish water in which the spatial salinity gradient is one of the most important factors contributing to species distribution. The Baltic Sea is infamous for its annual cyanobacterial blooms comprised of Nodularia spumigena, Aphanizomenon spp., and Dolichospermum spp.

N-Prenylation of Tryptophan by an Aromatic Prenyltransferase from the Cyanobactin Biosynthetic Pathway.

Aromatic prenylation is an important step in the biosynthesis of many natural products and leads to an astonishing diversity of chemical structures. Cyanobactin pathways frequently encode aromatic prenyltransferases that catalyze the prenylation of these macrocyclic and linear peptides. Here we characterized the anacyclamide ( acy) biosynthetic gene cluster from Anabaena sp.

Sphaerocyclamide, a prenylated cyanobactin from the cyanobacterium Sphaerospermopsis sp. LEGE 00249.

Cyanobactins are a family of linear and cyclic peptides produced through the post-translational modification of short precursor peptides. A mass spectrometry-based screening of potential cyanobactin producers led to the discovery of a new prenylated member of this family of compounds, sphaerocyclamide (1), from Sphaerospermopsis sp. LEGE 00249.

Comparative Genomics of the Baltic Sea Toxic Cyanobacteria UHCC 0039 and Its Response to Varying Salinity.

Salinity is an important abiotic factor controlling the distribution and abundance of , the dominating diazotrophic and toxic phototroph, in the brackish water cyanobacterial blooms of the Baltic Sea. To expand the available genomic information for brackish water cyanobacteria, we sequenced the isolate UHCC 0039 using an Illumina-SMRT hybrid sequencing approach, revealing a chromosome of 5,294,286 base pairs (bp) and a single plasmid of 92,326 bp. Comparative genomics in showed pronounced genetic similarity among strains evidencing their short evolutionary history.

Disruption of the methionine cycle and reduced cellular gluthathione levels underlie potex-potyvirus synergism in Nicotiana benthamiana.

Infection caused by the synergistic interaction of two plant viruses is typically manifested by severe symptoms and increased accumulation of either virus. In potex-potyviral synergism, the potyviral RNA silencing suppressor helper component proteinase (HCPro) is known to enhance the pathogenicity of the potexvirus counterpart. In line with this, Potato virus X (PVX; genus Potexvirus) genomic RNA (gRNA) accumulation and gene expression from subgenomic RNA (sgRNA) are increased in Nicotiana benthamiana by Potato virus A (PVA; genus Potyvirus) HCPro expression.

The Swinholide Biosynthesis Gene Cluster from a Terrestrial Cyanobacterium, Nostoc sp. Strain UHCC 0450.

Swinholides are 42-carbon ring polyketides with a 2-fold axis of symmetry. They are potent cytotoxins that disrupt the actin cytoskeleton. Swinholides were discovered from the marine sponge sp.

Production of High Amounts of Hepatotoxin Nodularin and New Protease Inhibitors Pseudospumigins by the Brazilian Benthic sp. CENA543.

is a cyanobacterial genus, common in soils and a prolific producer of natural products. This research project aimed to explore and characterize Brazilian cyanobacteria for new bioactive compounds. Here we report the production of hepatotoxins and new protease inhibitors from benthic sp.