链霉菌的全局调控蛋白DasR

链霉菌能够产生多种次级代谢产物,在临床、农牧业、生物技术等领域具有重要应用价值;对链霉菌的调控网络进行深入研究有助于提高次级代谢产物产量并发现新的次级代谢产物.链霉菌中次级代谢产物生物合成按调控通路分为全局调控与途径特异性调控,其中全局调控蛋白可靶向多种通路特异调控基因和生物合成基因,在链霉菌的生命活动中发挥着更为普遍...     

天蓝色链霉菌中抗生素合成相关双组分调控系统AfsQ1/Q2上游信号传导机制的研究

链霉菌是重要的工业微生物,能够合成众多具有生物活性的次级代谢产物,如抗生素、抗肿瘤药物以及免疫抑制剂等.次级代谢产物的合成受到多层次严格调控,深入开展相关机制研究将对工业菌株的高效育种提供重要理论指导.链霉菌中存在的两类关键信号传导系统,包括双组分系统(two-component system,TCS)和胞质外功能σ因子(extracytoplasmic function σ,ECF-σ),它们在次级代谢过程中发挥着重要的调控功能,但至今对于它们如何协同调控次级代谢的分子机制知之甚少.在前期研究工作中,我们在链霉菌模式菌株——天蓝色链霉菌中鉴定了一个参与抗生素生物合成调控的基因簇sigQ-afsQ1-4,其中sigQ编码ECF-σ因子(σ~Q),afsQ1/Q2编码一对TCS,afsQ3/Q4分别编码脂蛋白和跨膜蛋白.研究证实,TCS AfsQ1/Q2为抗生素生物合成的激活因子,sigQ的转录受到AfsQ1/Q2的直接调控,但σ~Q的功能正好相反,参与抗生素合成的负调控,即σ~Q对AfsQ1/Q2的功能存在拮抗作用.在前期工作基础上,本研究通过基因缺失突变体构建、转录分析等对sigQ/afsQ1-4基因簇内的基因功能及其相互作用关系进行了系统研究,并对σ~Q参与AfsQ1/Q2功能的拮抗机制进行了深入研究.结果显示,sigQ的缺失可显著下调膜蛋白基因afsQ4的表达,而在sigQ缺失突变体(ΔsigQ)中导入afsQ4可以很好回补突变体表型,由此表明afsQ4是σ~Q的下游调控靶点,σ~Q的调控功能可能一定程度上是通过AfsQ4来实现.进一步体外磷酸化实验分析发现,组氨酸蛋白激酶AfsQ2的磷酸化水平在afsQ4的基因缺失突变体显著降低,表明σ~Q可以借助膜蛋白AfsQ4拮抗AfsQ1/Q2的功能,最终协同调控抗生素的生物合成.     

非定向激活沉默基因簇挖掘链霉菌活性次级代谢产物研究进展

链霉菌(Streptomyces spp.)是活性次级代谢产物的主要生产菌,在发现结构新颖化合物上具有重大潜力。随着对链霉菌基因组数据的深入分析,发现大量产次级代谢产物合成基因簇处于沉默状态,因此利用非定向和定向策略激活链霉菌中沉默基因簇、挖掘结构新颖化合物成为当前的主要手段。本文主要综述了培养基组成改变或培养条件优化、共培养、添加化学激发子及全局性调控等非定向策略在挖掘链霉菌次级代谢产物中的应用以及取得的进展,以期为链霉菌次级代谢产物高效开发提供参考。     

链霉菌形态分化与次级代谢产物合成的研究进展

链霉菌是一类具有复杂的形态分化周期和强大的次级代谢能力的高GC含量的放线菌,能够利用其初级代谢产生的前体化合物和能量,合成多种结构复杂、功能多样的具有生物活性的次级代谢产物,在农业、食品、畜牧业、工业以及医药研究等领域都具有重要的价值。在链霉菌的形态分化后期常常伴随着次级代谢产物的生物合成,并且两者都受到复杂的网络调控;同时链霉菌的形态对次级代谢产物的产量和种类造成很大影响。对链霉菌生长周期的全面理解将加深对链霉菌形态分化与次级代谢产物合成关系的认识。本文将对链霉菌的形态分化过程、形态分化和抗生素合成两者共同的调控因子以及链霉菌形态与抗生素产量之间的关系进行综述,这将有助于理解抗生素的合成过程,也将会在缩短发酵周期、构建高产工程菌株、新型杀菌剂的研发以及新型抗生素的合成等方面给予我们启发。     

丝状真菌次级代谢产物的功能与合成调控研究进展

真菌是具有高度多样性的微生物资源,其产生的次级代谢产物具有很多重要的作用,如紫外线防护,自身发育以及防御外部侵害,而这些次级代谢产物的生物合成需要多个基因参与调控。本文主要综述了真菌次级代谢产物的药用价值,在真菌发育过程中的生态功能以及合成调控机制。     

无机磷酸盐对链霉菌合成次级代谢产物的影响

链霉菌一个突出的特征是具有合成丰富的次级代谢产物的能力,许多次级代谢产物,如抗生素、免疫抑制剂、抗癌物质等在临床医药、水产养殖业等领域具有重要的应用价值。链霉菌次级代谢产物的合成常与环境中的营养因子有着密切的关系,在代谢水平上综述了无机磷酸盐对链霉菌合成次级代谢产物的影响,并在转录水平上阐释了双组分信号转导系统PhoR-PhoP的分子调控机制。PhoR-PhoP能够感应环境中的无机磷酸盐信号,当无机磷酸盐的浓度低于一定"阈值"时,PhoP蛋白作为主导的调控因子将抑制参与中心代谢和次级代谢等一系列基因的转录表达,减慢磷酸盐的消耗,并激活磷酸盐的摄取和转运系统及时补充胞内的磷酸盐,最终影响链霉菌次级代谢产物的合成和形态发育分化。     

链霉菌次生代谢中双因子调控系统的研究进展

链霉菌次生代谢产物的生物合成受到严格和复杂的调控,而双因子调控系统是其中重要的一类调控因子,在链霉菌中广泛存在,且存在作用方式的多样性和作用机制的复杂性。就近些年研究较多的参与链霉菌次生代谢的两类双因子调控系统(真核型和原核型)的研究状况做了综述,重点阐明其作用机制,并对其研究趋势以及在药物代谢工程中的应用前景进行了展望。     

黄曲霉毒素生物合成代谢相关的基因组信息挖掘和转录调控因子研究进展

黄曲霉毒素生物合成调控机制的研究已成为研究真核生物次级代谢过程的模式系统,真菌基因组学及其他组学技术的快速发展为我们挖掘基因组信息、获取基因表达谱继而为黄曲霉毒素生物合成调控网络及其他真菌次级代谢机制的研究提供基础。真菌次级代谢基因的表达需要不同类型的转录因子进行调控,包括通路特异性转录因子、全局性转录因子及应答各种环境信号的广泛转录因子等,对这些转录因子功能的研究加快了对黄曲霉毒素生物合成代谢调控机制的认识。     

拟核结合蛋白调控链霉菌形态分化和次级代谢的作用和机制

链霉菌具有独特而复杂的形态分化周期,涉及到染色体复制、浓缩和分离等多个步骤,并伴随着菌丝的分隔和片段化。拟核结合蛋白作为染色体高级结构的重要组成成分,在调控链霉菌的形态分化中发挥了重要作用,调控许多与DNA相关的过程,包括基因表达、DNA保护、重组/修复和拟核的形成与维持等。此外,拟核结合蛋白作为细菌重要的全局性调控因子,也广泛参与了链霉菌次级代谢的调控。本文总结了链霉菌拟核结合蛋白的结构和功能,特别是调控形态分化和次级代谢的最新研究成果。     

Genetic regulation of aflatoxin biosynthesis: From gene to genome

Aflatoxins are notorious toxic secondary metabolites known for their impacts on human and animal health, and their effects on the marketability of key grain and nut crops. Understanding aflatoxin biosynthesis is the focus of a large and diverse research community. Concerted efforts by this community have led not only to a well-characterized biosynthetic pathway, but also to the discovery of novel regulatory mechanisms. Common to secondary metabolism is the clustering of biosynthetic genes and their regulation by pathway specific as well as global regulators. Recent data show that arrangement of secondary metabolite genes in clusters may allow for an important global regulation of secondary metabolism based on physical location along the chromosome. Available genomic and proteomic tools are now allowing us to examine aflatoxin biosynthesis more broadly and to put its regulation in context with fungal development and fungal ecology. This review covers our current understanding of the biosynthesis and regulation of aflatoxin and highlights new and emerging information garnered from structural and functional genomics. The focus of this review will be on studies in Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, the two agronomically important species that produce aflatoxin. Also covered will be the important contributions gained by studies on production of the aflatoxin precursor sterigmatocystin in Aspergillus nidulans.     

Complex transcriptional regulation of citrate metabolism in Clostridium perfringens

A Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium, Clostridium perfringens, possesses genes for citrate metabolism, which might play an important role in the utilization of citrate as a sole carbon source. In this study, we identified a chromosomal citCDEFX-mae-citS operon in C. perfringens strain 13, which is transcribed on three mRNAs of different sizes. Expression of the cit operon was significantly induced when 5 mM extracellular citrate was added to the growth medium. Most interestingly, three regulatory systems were found to be involved in the regulation of the expression of cit genes: 1) the two upstream divergent genes citG and citI; 2) two different two-component regulatory systems, CitA/CitB (TCS6 consisted of CPE0531/CPE0532) and TCS5 (CPE0518/CPE0519); and 3) the global two-component VirR/VirS-VR-RNA regulatory system known to regulate various genes for toxins and degradative enzymes. Our results suggest that in C. perfringens the citrate metabolism might be strictly controlled by a complex regulatory system.     

Draft genome sequence of the marine Streptomyces sp. strain PP-C42, isolated from the Baltic Sea

Streptomyces, a branch of aerobic Gram-positive bacteria, represents the largest genus of actinobacteria. The streptomycetes are characterized by a complex secondary metabolism and produce over two-thirds of the clinically used natural antibiotics today. Here we report the draft genome sequence of a Streptomyces strain, PP-C42, isolated from the marine environment. A subset of unique genes and gene clusters for diverse secondary metabolites as well as antimicrobial peptides could be identified from the genome, showing great promise as a source for novel bioactive compounds.     

Cross-regulation among disparate antibiotic biosynthetic pathways of Streptomyces coelicolor

A complex programme of regulation governs gene expression during development of the morphologically and biochemically complex eubacterial genus Streptomyces. Earlier work has suggested a model in which 'higher level' pleiotropic regulators activate 'pathway-specific' regulators located within chromosomal gene clusters encoding biosynthesis of individual antibiotics. We used mutational analysis and adventitious overexpression of key Streptomyces coelicolor regulators to investigate functional interactions among them. We report here that cluster-situated regulators (CSRs) thought to be pathway-specific can also control other antibiotic biosynthetic gene clusters, and thus have pleiotropic actions. Surprisingly, we also find that CSRs exhibit growth-phase-dependent control over afsR2/afsS, a 'higher level' pleiotropic regulatory locus not located within any of the chromosomal gene clusters it targets, and further demonstrate that cross-regulation by CSRs is modulated globally and differentially during the S. coelicolor growth cycle by the RNaseIII homologue AbsB. Our results, which reveal a network of functional interactions among regulators that govern production of antibiotics and other secondary metabolites in S. coelicolor, suggest that revision of the currently prevalent view of higher-level versus pathway-specific regulation of secondary metabolism in Streptomyces species is warranted.