Nanangenines: drimane sesquiterpenoids as the dominant metabolite cohort of a novel Australian fungus, Aspergillus nanangensis

• Heather J. Lacey,
• Cameron L. M. Gilchrist,
• Andrew Crombie,
• John A. Kalaitzis,
• Daniel Vuong,
• Peter J. Rutledge,
• Peter Turner,
• John I. Pitt,
• Ernest Lacey,
• Yit-Heng Chooi and
• Andrew M. Piggott

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2631–2643, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.256

• gene cluster identified in A. oryzae. Further investigation by genetic knockout or heterologous expression is required to confirm the identity of the putative nanangenine biosynthetic gene cluster. Over the range of biological assays performed, isonanangenines 3 and 6, in particular, exhibited strong

The chemistry and biology of mycolactones

• Matthias Gehringer and
• Karl-Heinz Altmann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 1596–1660, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.159

• 8000 host genes identified the angiotensin type II receptor (AT2R) as the molecular target of mycolactone, which was confirmed by genetic knockout in vitro and in vivo and by chemical inhibition. In a competition binding assay mycolactone was able to displace the potent radiolabeled agonist [125I

Activation of cryptic metabolite production through gene disruption: Dimethyl furan-2,4-dicarboxylate produced by Streptomyces sahachiroi

• Dinesh Simkhada,
• Huitu Zhang,
• Shogo Mori,
• Howard Williams and
• Coran M. H. Watanabe

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2013, 9, 1768–1773, doi:10.3762/bjoc.9.205

• previously identified and characterized compounds has become a serious impediment to the discovery of new bioactive natural products. Here, genetic knockout of an unusual non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) C-PCP-C module, aziA2, is performed resulting in the accumulation of the secondary metabolite

• knockout may constitute a means to “activate” the production of novel secondary metabolites that would otherwise lay dormant within microbial genome sequences. Keywords: cryptic metabolite; dimethyl furan-2,4-dicarboxylate; genetic knockout; natural products; non-ribosomal peptide synthetase module

• implicated a pyruvate aldolase and methyltransferase containing gene cluster as well as potential polyketide gene clusters containing methyltransferase genes, which will be evaluated in due course through genetic knockout experiments of the ΔaziA2 mutant strain. Disruption of the aziA2 gene gave