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Summary Non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS)-like enzymes catalyze the non-oxidative homodimerization of aromatic α-keto acids, but the exact reaction mechanism is unknown. The furanone-forming thioesterase domain of the Aspergillus terreus aspulvinone E synthetase MelA displays a predicted quinone-forming motif, whereby its catalytic triad contains an essential cysteine indicating an unusual thioester intermediate. To convert MelA into a quinone-forming atromentin synthetase its thioesterase domain was replaced with that from a Paxillus involutus or A. terreus atromentin synthetase. Phylogenetic proximity of donor and acceptor seems important, as only replacement with the A. terreus thioesterase was functional. Heterologous expression of atromentin synthetases in Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae revealed host-dependent product formation whereby cross-chemistry directed atromentin biosynthesis in A. niger toward atrofuranic acid. Screening of aspergilli from section Nigri identified an atromentin synthetase in Aspergillus brasiliensis that produced atrofuranic acid in the homologous host. Therefore, cross-chemistry on quinone cores appears common to section Nigri.

Production of basidiomycete atromentin-derived pigments like variegatic acid (pulvinic acid-type) and involutin (diarylcyclopentenone) from the brown-rotter Serpula lacrymans and the ectomycorrhiza-forming Paxillus involutus, respectively, is induced by complex nutrition, and in the case of S. lacrymans, bacteria. Pigmentation in S. lacrymans was stimulated by 13 different bacteria and cell-wall-damaging enzymes (lytic enzymes and proteases), but not by lysozyme or mechanical damage. The use of protease inhibitors with Bacillus subtilis or heat-killed bacteria during co-culturing with S. lacrymans significantly reduced pigmentation indicating that enzymatic hyphal damage and/or released peptides, rather than mechanical injury, was the major cause of systemic pigment induction. Conversely, no significant pigmentation by bacteria was observed from P. involutus. We found additional putative transcriptional composite elements of atromentin synthetase genes in P. involutus and other ectomycorrhiza-forming species that were absent from S. lacrymans and other brown-rotters. Variegatic and its precursor xerocomic acid, but not involutin, in return inhibited swarming and colony biofilm spreading of Bacillus subtilis, but did not kill B. subtilis. We suggest that dissimilar pigment regulation by fungal lifestyle was a consequence of pigment bioactivity and additional promoter motifs. The focus on basidiomycete natural product gene induction and regulation will assist in future studies to determine global regulators, signalling pathways and associated transcription factors of basidiomycetes.

SummaryThe symbiotic fungus Paxillus involutus serves a critical role in maintaining forest ecosystems, which are carbon sinks of global importance. P. involutus produces involutin and other 2,5-diarylcyclopentenone pigments that presumably assist in the oxidative degradation of lignocellulose via Fenton chemistry. Their precise biosynthetic pathways, however, remain obscure. Using a combination of biochemical, genetic, and transcriptomic analyses, in addition to stable-isotope labeling with synthetic precursors, we show that atromentin is the key intermediate. Atromentin is made by tridomain synthetases of high similarity: InvA1, InvA2, and InvA5. An inactive atromentin synthetase, InvA3, gained activity after a domain swap that replaced its native thioesterase domain with that of InvA5. The found degree of multiplex biosynthetic capacity is unprecedented with fungi, and highlights the great importance of the metabolite for the producer.

Non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) are key enzymes in microorganisms for the assembly of peptide backbones of biologically and pharmacologically active natural products. The monomodular NRPS-like enzymes comprise often an adenylation (A), a thiolation (T), and a thioesterase (TE) domain. In contrast to the NRPSs, they do not contain any condensation domain and usually catalyze a dimerization of α-keto carboxylic acids and thereby provide diverse scaffolds for further modifications. In this study, we established an expression system for NRPS-like genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. By expression of four known genes from Aspergillus terreus, their predicted function was confirmed and product yields of up to 35 mg per liter culture were achieved. Furthermore, expression of ATEG_03090 from the same fungus, encoding for the last uncharacterized NRPS-like enzyme with an A-T-TE domain structure, led to the formation of the benzoquinone derivative atromentin. All the accumulated products were isolated and their structures were elucidated by NMR and MS analyses. This study provides a convenient system for proof of gene function as well as a basis for synthetic biology, since additional genes encoding modification enzymes can be introduced.

The genus Hypoxylon , a member of the family Xylariaceae, has been known to produce significant secondary metabolites in terms of chemical diversity. Moreover, the compounds isolated can also be used as chemotaxonomic characters for differentiation among the two sections, which are sect. Annulata and sect. Hypoxylon . In our continuing chemical screening programme for novel compounds, the crude extracts of H. fendleri BCC32408 gave significant chemical profiles in HPLC analyses. Thus, the chemical investigation of these crude extracts was then carried out. The investigation led to the isolation of ten previously undescribed compounds including three terphenylquinones (fendleryls A – C), one terphenyl (fendleryl D), and six novel drimane – phthalide-type lactone/isoindolinones derivatives (fendlerinines A – F) along with seven known compounds (2- O -methylatromentin, rickenyl E, atromentin, rickenyls C – D, (+)-ramulosin, and O -hydroxyphenyl acetic acid). The chemical structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic analyses, including 1D, 2D NMR and high-resolution mass spectrometry, as well as chemical transformations. In addition, these isolated compounds were assessed for antimicrobial activity including antimalarial (against Plasmodium falciparum , K-1 strain), antifungal (against Candida albicans ), antibacterial (against Bacillus cereus ) activities. Cytotoxicity against both cancerous (KB, MCF-7, NCI-H187) and non-cancerous (Vero) cells of these compounds were also evaluated.

The gene greA was cloned from the genome of the basidiomycete Suillus grevillei. It encodes a monomodular natural product biosynthesis protein composed of three domains for adenylation, thiolation, and thioesterase and, hence, is reminiscent of a nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS). GreA was biochemically characterized in vitro. It was identified as atromentin synthetase and therefore represents one of only a limited number of biochemically characterized NRPS-like enzymes which accept an aromatic α-keto acid. Specificity-conferring amino acid residues--collectively referred to as the nonribosomal code--were predicted for the primary sequence of the GreA adenylation domain and were an unprecedented combination for aromatic α-keto acids. Plausible support for this new code came from in silico simulation of the adenylation domain structure. According to the model, the predicted residues line the active site and, therefore, very likely contribute to substrate specificity.

The structure of a long-known natural pigment, atromentin, was established by a total synthesis based on double Suzuki-Miyaura coupling and by a single-crystal X-ray analysis of the synthetic sample thereby obtained. A similar strategy including ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) oxidation was applied to prepare 2-O-methoxyatromentin and thelephantin I.

In the course of screening for apoptotic substances that induce apoptosis in human leukemia U937 cells, a fungal strain, F000487, which exhibits potent inducible activity, was selected. The active compound was purified from an ethyl acetate extract of the microorganism by Sep-pak C 18 column chromatography and HPLC, and was identified as atromentin by spectroscopic methods. This compound induced caspase-3 processing in human leukemia U937 cells. The caspase-3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) were induced by atromentin in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, DNA fragmentation was also induced by this compound in a dose-dependent manner. These results show that atromentin potently induces apoptosis in U937 cells and that atromentin-induced apoptosis is related to the selective activation of caspases.

This report highlights the first biochemical characterization of a multi-domain biosynthetic enzyme for basidiomycete secondary metabolism: the tri-domain enzyme atromentin synthetase AtrA, from Tapinella panuoides, which adenylates and dimerizes 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid into atromentin. Also, the l-tyrosine:2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase AtrD, which provides the substrate for this dimerization step, has been characterized. AtrA and AtrD expand the shikimic acid pathway from l-tyrosine to atromentin, the central terphenylquinone intermediate for a prominent and widely occurring class of basidiomycete pigments, among them various pharmaceutically relevant compounds. The genes atrA and atrD were cloned and found to be clustered within one genetic locus. Given the broad distribution of atromentin-derived compounds among homobasidiomycetes we expect our system represents a widely applicable model.

Thelephora vialis is a mushroom that grows in symbiosis with pine trees in Yunnan, China, a place known to have some of the richest and most diverse bioresources in the world. This is one of the most favored edible mushrooms, due to its flavor. Our screening for bioactive compounds from these mushrooms isolated a novel potent antioxidant, vialinin A, together with known compounds, from the dry fruiting bodies of T. vialis. Vialinin A is a terphenyl derivative and was elucidated by spectroscopic and chemical methods. Vialinin A showed anti-allergic activities, inhibition of beta-hexosaminidase, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin 4 and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 release from RBL-2H3 cells, whereas atromentin and an inseparable mixture of ganbajunins D and E showed no such effects. Vialinin A displayed potent inhibition of TNF-alpha production from RBL-2H3 cells (IC50, 0.09+/-0.01 nM), indicating stronger inhibition than tacrolimus for organ transplantation (IC50, 0.25+/-0.03 nM). The potent inhibitory activities of these compounds against TNF-alpha production indicate promising new candidates for anti-allergic agents.

Two potent inhibitors of FabK, the enoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) reductase of Streptococcus pneumoniae, were isolated from the solid state fermentation of an unidentified fungus F010248. Their structures were identified to be atromentin and leucomelone by various spectral analysis. Atromentin and leucomelone inhibited the FabK with IC50 values of 0.24 and 1.57 microM, respectively, while did not inhibit FabI, the enoyl-ACP reductase of either Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus, even at 200 microM. Atromentin and leucomelone are the first inhibitors specific to the enoyl-ACP reductase (FabK) of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Five p-terphenyl derivatives named thelephantins D-H (1-5) together with nine known compounds, thelephantins A-C (6-8), ganbajunin E (9), p-hydroxylbenzoic acid (10), ganbajunin C (11), thelephorin A (12), 2-O-methylatromentin (13) and atromentin (14), were isolated from the methanolic extract of fruit bodies of the Thelephoraceous Basidiomycete Thelephora aurantiotincta. Their structures were elucidated by high-resolution MS, 2D NMR, IR and UV spectroscopic analysis.

Polyporic acid, atromentin, bovinone, and oosporein are common metabolic products of a number of species of fungi. The related compound cochliodinol and its congeners are produced by several Chaetomium spp. These quinonoid metabolites have been shown to inhibit the growth and metabolism of a range of bacterial genera. The antibiotic activity of the quinones depends on the substituents at the 3 and 6 positions of the 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone ring; in aerobic systems the activity appears to be inversely proportional to the polarity of the metabolite. It has been shown that reduction of the quinone to the hydroquinone changes the antibiotic activity of these metabolites but does not abolish it. Contrary to previous reports, the activity of these hydroquinones is not reversed by cysteine.

Studies of the barium salts of bromanilic acid, nitranilic acid and polyporic acid show that they are not superior to barium chloranilate as reagents for determining sulfate. Improved syntheses of polyporic acid and atromentin are presented; two new syntheses of barium bromanilate, and one new synthesis of barium nitranilate and of barium polyporate are also presented. Ultraviolet absorption spectra show that polyporic acid forms a dimer in dimethylsulfoxide solution.

Gross screening revealed that Hydnellum diabolus Banker contained a parenterally effective anticoagulant, while H. aurantiacum , H. caeruleum , and Hydnum laevigatum lacked activity. A 70 per cent ethanolic extract of H. diabolus contained all anticoagulant activity as well as pressor-leiomyotonic principles. The anticoagulant activity grossly resembled that of heparin, except that in vivo activity was not reversed by protamine injection. In vivo , 1 mg. of the ethanol extract was equivalent to 0.58 u. of heparin. Selective solvent extraction of the mushroom with diethyl ether removed all anticoagulant activity, and from this extract atromentin was isolated. In vitro , 1 mg. of atromentin was equivalent to 5.1 u. of heparin and 2.3 mg. of reference 70 per cent ethanol extract. Synthetic dimethylatromentin, 2,5-diphenylbenzoquinone, and polyporic acid were without anticoagulant properties.

Atromentin was found to be present in both 30- and 45-day-old cultures of Clitocybe subilludens Murr., whereas thelephoric acid was present in the 30-, 45-, and 60-day-old cultures. These cultures were grown on 6% malt extract agar under continuous light conditions at 29° for 15, 30, 45, and 60 days. Cultures grown in the absence of light failed to produce detectable quantities of either terphenylquinone. Examination of all cultures for diphenyl-substituted tetronic acids failed to demonstrate detectable amounts. It is postulated from these observations that atromentin may act as a precursor for thelephoric acid, since the disappearance of the former coincides with the appearance of the latter terphenyl-quinone.

Two styrylpyrone, three terphenylquinone, and six diphenyl-substituted tetronic acid derivatives were tested for in vitro antimicrobial activity. The best inhibitory responses were seen with hispidin, bisnoryangonin, and vulpinic acid against Gram-positive organisms, including the acid-fast Mycobacterium smegmatis, and with atromentin against the acid-fast bacterium, the Gram-negative organisms, and Candida albicans. However, all of the observed activities were low relative to those normally associated with clinically useful antibiotics.