Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Zhiguo Liu, Wei Li, Peng Zhang, Jie Fan, Fangbo Zhang, Caixia Wang, Shuming Li, Yi Sun, Shilin Chen, Wenbing Yin
Summary: Three new xenoacremones, A, B, and C, were identified from the fungal strain Xenoacremonium sinensis ML-31, with their biosynthetic pathway elucidated through gene deletion and heterologous expression. Three novel enzymes, XenF, XenD, and XenC, were found to coordinate in assembling the [6.5.6] tricarbocyclic ring and para-cyclophane ether in the biosynthesis of complex tyrosine-decahydrofluorene derivatives.
ACTA PHARMACEUTICA SINICA B
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Wei Zhang, Xuan Zhang, Dandan Feng, Yajing Liang, Zhenying Wu, Siyu Du, Yu Zhou, Ce Geng, Ping Men, Chunxiang Fu, Xuenian Huang, Xuefeng Lu
Summary: This study discovered a biosynthetic pathway for a fungal flavonoid and revealed a novel flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. A core nonribosomal peptide synthetase-polyketide synthase (NRPS-PKS) was found responsible for the synthesis of the key precursor chalcone, which was then converted into flavanone by a new type of chalcone isomerase. Finally, a new type of flavone synthase catalyzed the desaturation of flavanone to flavone.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Miguel David Marfil-Santana, Anahi Martinez-Cardenas, Analuisa Ruiz-Hernandez, Mario Vidal-Torres, Norma Angelica Marquez-Velazquez, Mario Figueroa, Alejandra Prieto-Davo
Summary: The study investigated the secondary metabolite production potential and impact of selective media on the microbial communities in El Palmar, Yucatan; the use of antibiotic-amended medium selectively increased the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria capable of producing secondary metabolites.
Review
Plant Sciences
Yi-Ming Chiang, Clay C. C. Wang, Tzu-Shyang Lin
Summary: Fungal natural products have a wide range of bioactivities, and the analysis of fungal genomes has shown that there is great potential for the production of undiscovered natural products. To tap into this resource, the use of genetically tractable fungi as hosts for total heterologous biosynthesis has become increasingly popular in recent years. This review summarizes the methods used to accomplish total heterologous biosynthesis of fungal natural products using Aspergillus nidulans as the host.
JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Qiuyue Nie, Shuqi Guo, Xue Gao
Summary: We report the discovery of the biosynthetic gene cluster for penicillenol A(1) and E in Penicillium citrinum and propose the assembly line of the polyketide synthase module in PncA and the formation mechanism of penicillenol A(1).
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Tao Zhang, Guowei Cai, Xiaoting Rong, Jingwen Xu, Bingya Jiang, Hao Wang, Xinxin Li, Lu Wang, Ran Zhang, Wenni He, Liyan Yu
Summary: Genomic analysis revealed the presence of numerous biosynthetic gene clusters in ascomycetes, with the study identifying the epi cluster responsible for epicoccamide A biosynthesis in Epicoccum sp. CPCC 400996 through genetic deletion and bioinformatic analysis. The study proposed a metabolic pathway for epicoccamide A biosynthesis and highlighted the potential for derivatization or generation of new chemical entities based on these findings.
MICROBIAL CELL FACTORIES
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Medicinal
Yunqiang Wu, Min Wang, Liwei Liu
Summary: Trans-AT polyketides are a class of natural compounds synthesized through the utilization of independent acyltransferases. They are characterized by diverse chemical structures and potent bioactivities. Genetic hybrids of polyketide synthases and non-ribosomal peptide synthetases result in the incorporation of amino acid residues into polyketide structures, significantly enhancing their structural diversity.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Huiming Huang, Liangguang Yue, Fayu Deng, Xiaoyu Wang, Ning Wang, Hu Chen, Huayue Li
Summary: The integration of NMR-metabolomic and genomic analyses allows for enhanced identification of structural properties and biosynthetic information in natural products. In this study, NMR-based metabolomic profiling and genome mining were employed to isolate and determine the structures of two new natural products from Streptomyces sp. S063. The cytotoxicity evaluation demonstrated moderate growth inhibition against several human cancer cells.
JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Hongcheng Li, Wei Zhang, Xuan Zhang, Shen Tang, Ping Men, Mengyi Xiong, Zhimin Li, Yongyu Zhang, Xuenian Huang, Xuefeng Lu
Summary: Filamentous fungi are abundant sources of bioactive natural products. In this study, 151 marine-derived fungi were collected and identified. One strain, Penicillium oxalicum MEFC104, was selected for further investigation and yielded two new compounds, oxopyrrolidine A and B. The structures and configurations of these compounds were determined through various experiments, and the biosynthetic pathway was elucidated through bioinformatic analysis and gene-deletion experiments.
Article
Microbiology
Lei Chen, Ziwei Wang, Shuang Du, Guangyu Wang
Summary: The study isolated 109 culturable actinobacteria from coastal wetlands in Weihai, China, and found that 104 of them exhibited antimicrobial activity. Among the 35 strains with the strongest inhibitory effects, some were found to have both PKS and NRPS genes, suggesting potential for new bioactive substances. The broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities of the actinobacteria isolated from coastal wetlands highlight their significance in marine natural product development.
CURRENT MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Maikel Fernandez-Lopez, Ayixon Sanchez-Reyes, Clara Barcelos, Karla Sidon-Cesena, Ricardo B. Leite, Asuncion Lago-Leston
Summary: The excessive use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of resistant strains, making it crucial to find new bioactive compounds. Marine sediments from the Gulf of Mexico offer great potential for identifying genes that code for new secondary metabolites, as marine microorganisms have unique biochemical and physiological properties.
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Yaojie Guo, Fabiano J. Contesini, Xinhui Wang, Simone Ghidinelli, Ditte S. Tornby, Thomas E. Andersen, Uffe H. Mortensen, Thomas O. Larsen
Summary: A new polyketide-nonribosomal peptide hybrid, calipyridone A, was isolated from the fungal Aspergillus californicus. The biosynthetic gene cluster cpd was identified and confirmed to play a role in the production of calipyridone A. Chemical analyses of mutant strains revealed the biosynthetic pathway of calipyridone A, which showed modest inhibition effects on the plaque-forming ability of SARS-CoV-2.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Lei Chen, Xue-Ning Wang, Hong-Yu Bi, Guang-Yu Wang
Summary: This study explores the antimicrobial potential and phylogenetics of bacteria associated with the sponge Ophlitaspongia sp. from the Yellow Sea in China. The results show that a total of 94 out of 151 isolated strains exhibited antimicrobial activities, belonging to various genera and families across four phyla. The study also identifies the presence of polyketide synthase (PKS) and non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) genes in these strains, suggesting the potential for the production of bioactive compounds. The findings highlight the importance of sponge-derived bacteria as a promising source of novel drugs.
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Friederike Biermann, Sebastian L. Wenski, Eric J. N. Helfrich
Summary: Natural products are a valuable source of new drug leads due to their structural diversity and diverse biological activities. Genome mining is a computational approach that analyzes sequenced genomes to identify potential natural product biosynthetic gene clusters. Both hard-coded rules and machine learning algorithms have been developed as tools for gene cluster identification. This perspective article discusses the state-of-the-art genome mining tools, their confidence in predictions, and their potential to identify non-canonical gene clusters. Additionally, two indirect strategies for gene cluster identification are introduced. The combination of all existing genome mining approaches will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the biosynthetic repertoire encoded in microbial genomes.
BEILSTEIN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elizabeth Skellam
Summary: Fungal polyketides from 1999 to 2021 encompass a diverse range of structurally and biologically active molecules. The giant multifunctional enzymes involved in synthesizing polyketide backbones remain enigmatic. Recent advances in elucidating biosynthetic gene clusters have revealed the complexity encountered when investigating natural product biosynthesis in fungi, demonstrating the need for collaborating enzymes to synthesize the carbon backbone.
NATURAL PRODUCT REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Oceanography
Yongjun Wei, Shan Jiang, Lingmin Tian, Liping Wei, Jie Jin, Juan Severino Pino Ibanhez, Yan Chang, Xiaodao Wei, Ying Wu
Summary: The study investigated sediment microbial composition in a continental shelf affected by the Changjiang River plume, revealing spatial variability in microbial diversity and metabolic activity related to terrestrial and phytoplankton-derived substrates.
ACTA OCEANOLOGICA SINICA
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Haichao Li, Yongjun Wei, Guohui Yuan, Ruobing Guan
Summary: In this study, four bacterial strains isolated from the regurgitation fluid of Ostrinia furnacalis and Helicoverpa armigera were found to alter gene expression profiles in maize, affecting phytohormones, secondary metabolic pathways, transcription factors, MAPK, and plant-pathogen interaction-related genes. A total of 210 genes showed similar changes to those after insect feeding. Symbiotic insect bacteria participate in insect-plant interactions by changing maize gene expression profiles, which can potentially be used to develop anti-pest microbial agents through activating the plant defense system.
ARCHIVES OF MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yuguo Jiang, Jiangfan Ma, Yongjun Wei, Yining Liu, Zhihua Zhou, Yongping Huang, Pingping Wang, Xing Yan
Summary: This study presented an artificial biosynthetic pathway for the aldehyde components of Helicoverpa armigera sex pheromones using engineered yeasts. By manipulating different yeast strains, the de novo synthesis of important components such as (Z)-11-hexadecenoic acid, (Z)-9-hexadecenal was achieved, and their biological activity was confirmed through effectiveness assays.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Hai Liu, Shan Jiang, Jintao Ou, Jinfeng Tang, Yang Lu, Yongjun Wei
Summary: Soil microbiota plays a crucial role in plant growth and nutrition, and its diversity is affected by vegetation types and human activities. This study utilized 16S rRNA analysis to identify microbial structures in soil samples and revealed that the microbial structure and nutrient content varied among different vegetation types. Novel bacterial genera were found in these soil samples, and the dominant species in the soil microbiota were found to play functional roles in soil nutrition. Culturomics and other omics technologies were suggested to isolate novel microorganisms for promoting plant growth.
BIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGICAL EQUIPMENT
(2022)
Editorial Material
Environmental Sciences
Shan Jiang, Jinfeng Tang, Shadi Rahimi, Ivan Mijakovic, Yongjun Wei
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jinfeng Tang, Shaobin Dong, Qian Feng, Minhua Su, Yongjun Wei, Jiawei Liang, Hongguo Zhang, Lei Huang, Lingjun Kong, Nana Wang, Enzong Xiao, Yingkui Liu, Xuan Tang, Tangfu Xiao
Summary: The municipal solid waste incineration fly ash, classified as hazardous waste, can be used as a valuable source for precious metals such as antimony and zinc. This study proposes a two-step leaching method for recovering these metals from the fly ash, achieving high removal efficiency. The process not only aids in precious metal recovery but also reduces toxic byproducts and effluent residue.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Yudie Yang, Lingbo Qu, Ivan Mijakovic, Yongjun Wei
Summary: This review provides insights into the interaction between human skin microbiota and human skin, the potential roles of microbiota in skin health and diseases, and the strategies for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of microbe-related skin diseases.
MICROBIAL CELL FACTORIES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Huang Yi, Yi Hua, Deng Zhi-Ying, Wei Yong-Jun, Liu Quan-Xi, Wang Ran, Li Bo
Summary: Significant progress has been made in environmental management since 2016, when crop rotation and fallow were introduced in heavy metal-contaminated areas. The satisfaction of farmers with the treatment effect of heavy metal pollution and their income increased. The study found that education level and pollution degree have a positive influence on satisfaction and income, while family income has a negative influence. Age level has a positive influence on satisfaction but a negative influence on income.
POLISH JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
(2022)
Editorial Material
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Gen Zou, Jens B. Nielsen, Yongjun Wei
Summary: Recent advances in synthetic biology have revolutionized mushroom farming by shifting the focus from traditional cultivation to comprehensive applications using cutting-edge biotechnologies. Promising applications in this field include precision breeding, exploration of biosynthetic gene clusters, development of mushroom chassis cells, and construction of cell factories for high-value products.
TRENDS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Microbiology
Yongjun Wei, Hongjie Li
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Qin Miao, Xiaoling Zhang, Yitong Wang, Xiaoqi Li, Zheng Wang, Lingmin Tian, Lingbo Qu, Yongjun Wei
Summary: Diverse pectinolytic enzymes play a significant role in various industries and account for a significant portion of the global industrial enzyme demands. This study successfully identified and characterized new pectinolytic enzymes from lignocellulose-degrading microbiota derived from pulp and paper wastewater. The findings suggest the potential of these enzymes for industrial applications, contributing to the sustainable utilization of lignocellulose.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jiamin Chen, Jiawei Liang, Chenjing Li, Jihua Dai, Wenning Mai, Yongjun Wei
Summary: High ammonia concentration hinders efficient treatment of antibiotic production wastewater. In this study, an efficient AOB microbiota (named AF2) was obtained, which showed stable performance in a high-level salt environment and demonstrated great potential for future industrial wastewater treatment of APW.
Review
Microbiology
Tong Li, Yongjun Wei, Chenchen Zhao, Shaojian Li, Suxia Gao, Yuanchen Zhang, Yuqing Wu, Chuantao Lu
Summary: This article discusses the use of RNA interference (RNAi) techniques and symbiont-mediated RNAi (SMR) techniques to control aphid pests. It introduces the potential of facultative symbionts in aphid pest control, as well as their horizontal transmission routes and ecological functions. It also discusses the cultivation and genetic engineering methods for aphid facultative symbionts, as well as the current legislation and safety assessments of dsRNA-based pest control strategies.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yongjun Wei, Cheng Zhang, Adil Mardinoglu, Peng Zhang
FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR BIOSCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Shan Jiang, Jie Jin, Yongjun Wei, Ying Wu, Yixue Zhang, Carlos Rocha, Juan Severino Pino Ibanhez, Guosen Zhang, Jing Zhang
Summary: This study investigates the turnover of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in subterranean estuaries in Sanggou Bay, China. The results show that ammonium and nitrite concentrations did not vary significantly with depth or season, while nitrate concentrations peaked in the bottom sediment layer and were linked to nitrogen production through organic matter decomposition, ammonification, and nitrification.
GEOSCIENCE FRONTIERS
(2023)