Polystyrene Upcycling into Fungal Natural Products and a Biocontrol Agent.

Polystyrene (PS) is one of the most used yet infrequently recycled plastics. Although manufactured on the scale of 300 million tons per year globally, current approaches toward PS degradation are energy- and carbon-inefficient, slow, and/or limited in the value that they reclaim. We recently reported a scalable process to degrade post-consumer polyethylene-containing waste streams into carboxylic diacids. Engineered fungal strains then upgrade these diacids biosynthetically to synthesize pharmacologically active secondary metabolites. Herein, we apply a similar reaction to rapidly convert PS to benzoic acid in high yield. Engineered strains of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans then biosynthetically upgrade PS-derived crude benzoic acid to the structurally diverse secondary metabolites ergothioneine, pleuromutilin, and mutilin. Further, we expand the catalog of plastic-derived products to include spores of the industrially relevant biocontrol agent Aspergillus flavus Af36 from crude PS-derived benzoic acid.

Conversion of Polyethylenes into Fungal Secondary Metabolites.

Waste plastics represent major environmental and economic burdens due to their ubiquity, slow breakdown rates, and inadequacy of current recycling routes. Polyethylenes are particularly problematic, because they lack robust recycling approaches despite being the most abundant plastics in use today. We report a novel chemical and biological approach for the rapid conversion of polyethylenes into structurally complex and pharmacologically active compounds. We present conditions for aerobic, catalytic digestion of polyethylenes collected from post-consumer and oceanic waste streams, creating carboxylic diacids that can then be used as a carbon source by the fungus Aspergillus nidulans. As a proof of principle, we have engineered strains of A. nidulans to synthesize the fungal secondary metabolites asperbenzaldehyde, citreoviridin, and mutilin when grown on these digestion products. This hybrid approach considerably expands the range of products to which polyethylenes can be upcycled.

Characterization of a silent azaphilone biosynthesis gene cluster in Aspergillus terreus NIH 2624.

Filamentous fungal secondary metabolites are an important source of bioactive components. Genome sequencing ofAspergillus terreusrevealed many silent secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters presumed to be involved in producing secondary metabolites. Activation of silent gene clusters through overexpressing a pathway-specific regulator is an effective avenue for discovering novel fungal secondary metabolites. Replacement of the native promoter of the pathway-specific activator with the inducible Tet-on system to activate thetazpathway led to the discovery of a series of azaphilone secondary metabolites, among which azaterrilone A (1) was purified and identified for the first time. Genetic deletion of core PKS genes and transcriptional analysis further characterized thetazgene cluster to consist of 16 genes with the NR-PKS and the HR-PKS collaborating in a convergent mode. Based on the putative gene functions and the characterized compounds structural information, a biosynthetic pathway of azaterrilone A (1) was proposed.

Total Heterologous Biosynthesis of Fungal Natural Products in Aspergillus nidulans.

Fungal natural products comprise a wide range of bioactive compounds including important drugs and agrochemicals. Intriguingly, bioinformatic analyses of fungal genomes have revealed that fungi have the potential to produce significantly more natural products than what have been discovered so far. It has thus become widely accepted that most biosynthesis pathways of fungal natural products are silent or expressed at very low levels under laboratory cultivation conditions. To tap into this vast chemical reservoir, the reconstitution of entire biosynthetic pathways in genetically tractable fungal hosts (total heterologous biosynthesis) has become increasingly employed in recent years. This review summarizes total heterologous biosynthesis of fungal natural products accomplished before 2020 using Aspergillus nidulans as heterologous hosts. We review here Aspergillus transformation, A. nidulans hosts, shuttle vectors for episomal expression, and chromosomal integration expression. These tools, collectively, not only facilitate the discovery of cryptic natural products but can also be used to generate high-yield strains with clean metabolite backgrounds. In comparison with total synthesis, total heterologous biosynthesis offers a simplified strategy to construct complex molecules and holds potential for commercial application.

Identification of the pigment and its role in UV resistance in Paecilomyces variotii, a Chernobyl isolate, using genetic manipulation strategies.

Fungi produce secondary metabolites that are not directly involved in their growth, but often contribute to their adaptation to extreme environmental stimuli and enable their survival. Conidial pigment or melanin is one of the secondary metabolites produced naturally by a polyketide synthesis (PKS) gene cluster in several filamentous fungi and is known to protect these fungi from extreme radiation conditions. Several pigmented or melanized fungi have been shown to grow under extreme radiation conditions at the Chernobyl nuclear accident site. Some of these fungi, including Paecilomyces variotii, were observed to grow towards the source of radiation. Therefore, in this study, we wanted to identify if the pigment produced by P. variotii, contributes to providing protection against radiation condition. We first identified the PKS gene responsible for synthesis of pigment in P. variotii and confirmed its role in providing protection against UV irradiation through CRISPR-Cas9 mediated gene deletion. This is the first report that describes the use of CRISPR methodology to create gene deletions in P. variotii. Further, we showed that the pigment produced by this fungus, was not inhibited by DHN-melanin pathway inhibitors, indicating that the fungus does not produce melanin. We then identified the pigment synthesized by the PKS gene of P. variotii, as a naptho-pyrone Ywa1, by heterologously expressing the gene in Aspergillus nidulans. The results obtained will further aid in understanding the mechanistic basis of radiation resistance.

The sexual spore pigment asperthecin is required for normal ascospore production and protection from UV light in Aspergillus nidulans.

Many fungi develop both asexual and sexual spores that serve as propagules for dissemination and/or recombination of genetic traits. Asexual spores are often heavily pigmented and this pigmentation provides protection from UV light. However, little is known about any purpose pigmentation that may serve for sexual spores. The model Ascomycete Aspergillus nidulans produces both green pigmented asexual spores (conidia) and red pigmented sexual spores (ascospores). Here we find that the previously characterized red pigment, asperthecin, is the A. nidulans ascospore pigment. The asperthecin biosynthetic gene cluster is composed of three genes: aptA, aptB, and aptC, where deletion of either aptA (encoding a polyketide synthase) or aptB (encoding a thioesterase) yields small, mishappen hyaline ascospores; while deletion of aptC (encoding a monooxygenase) yields morphologically normal but purple ascospores. ∆aptA and ∆aptB but not ∆aptC or wild type ascospores are extremely sensitive to UV light. We find that two historical ascospore color mutants, clA6 and clB1, possess mutations in aptA and aptB sequences, respectively.

Mating-type factor-specific regulation of the fumagillin/pseurotin secondary metabolite supercluster in Aspergillus fumigatus.

In the human pathogenic mold Aspergillus fumigatus, sexual identity is determined by the mating-type idiomorphs MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 residing at the MAT locus. Upon crossing of compatible partners, a heterothallic mating is executed to eventually form cleistothecia that contain recombinant ascospores. Given that the MAT1 gene products are DNA binding master regulators that govern this complex developmental process, we monitored the MAT1-driven transcriptomes of A. fumigatus by conditional overexpression of either MAT1 gene followed by RNA-seq analyses. Numerous genes related to the process of mating were found to be under transcriptional control, such as pheromone production and recognition. Substantial differences between the MAT1-1- and MAT1-2-driven transcriptomes could be detected by functional categorization of differentially expressed genes. Moreover, a significant and distinct impact on expression of genetic clusters of secondary metabolism became apparent, which could be verified on the product level. Unexpectedly, specific cross-regulation of the fumagillin/pseurotin supercluster was evident, thereby uncoupling its co-regulatory characteristic. These insights imply a tight interconnection of sexual development accompanied by ascosporogenesis with secondary metabolite production of a pathogenic fungus and impose evolutionary constraints that link these two fundamental aspects of the fungal lifestyle.

Proteomic characterization of Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from air and surfaces of the International Space Station.

The on-going Microbial Observatory Experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) revealed the presence of various microorganisms that may be affected by the distinct environment of the ISS. The low-nutrient environment combined with enhanced irradiation and microgravity may trigger changes in the molecular suite of microorganisms leading to increased virulence and resistance of microbes. Proteomic characterization of two Aspergillus fumigatus strains, ISSFT-021 and IF1SW-F4, isolated from HEPA filter debris and cupola surface of the ISS, respectively, is presented, along with a comparison to well-studied clinical isolates Af293 and CEA10. In-depth analysis highlights variations in the proteome of both ISS-isolated strains when compared to the clinical strains. Proteins that showed increased abundance in ISS isolates were overall involved in stress responses, and carbohydrate and secondary metabolism. Among the most abundant proteins were Pst2 and ArtA involved in oxidative stress response, PdcA and AcuE responsible for ethanol fermentation and glyoxylate cycle, respectively, TpcA, TpcF, and TpcK that are part of trypacidin biosynthetic pathway, and a toxin Asp-hemolysin. This report provides insight into possible molecular adaptation of filamentous fungi to the unique ISS environment.

Discovery and Elucidation of the Biosynthesis of Aspernidgulenes: Novel Polyenes from Aspergillus Nidulans by Using Serial Promoter Replacement.

Through serial promoter exchanges, we isolated several novel polyenes, the aspernidgulenes, from Aspergillus nidulans and uncovered their succinct biosynthetic pathway involving only four enzymes. An enoyl reductase (ER)-less highly reducing polyketide synthase (HR-PKS) putatively produces a 5,6-dihydro-α-pyrone polyene, which undergoes bisepoxidation, epoxide ring opening, cyclization, and hydrolytic cleavage by three tailoring enzymes to generate aspernidgulene A1 and A2. Our findings demonstrate the prowess of fungal-tailoring enzymes to transform a polyketide scaffold concisely and efficiently into complex structures. Moreover, comparison with citreoviridin and aurovertin biosynthesis suggests that methylation of the α-pyrone hydroxy group by methyltransferase (CtvB or AurB) is the branching point at which the biosynthesis of these two classes of compounds diverge. Therefore, scanning for the presence or absence of the gatekeeping α-pyrone methyltransferase gene in homologous clusters might be a potential way to classify the product bioinformatically as belonging to methylated α-pyrone polyenes or polyenes containing rings derived from the cyclization of the unmethylated 5,6-dihydro-α-pyrone, such as 2,3-dimethyl-γ-lactone and oxabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane.

Baicalein Targets GTPase-Mediated Autophagy to Eliminate Liver Tumor-Initiating Stem Cell-Like Cells Resistant to mTORC1 Inhibition.

Drug resistance is a major problem in the treatment of liver cancer. Mammalian Target of Rapamycin 1 (mTORC1) inhibitors have been tested for the treatment of liver cancer based on hyperactive mTOR in this malignancy. However, their clinical trials showed poor outcome, most likely due to their ability to upregulate CD133 and promote chemoresistance. The CD133+ tumor-initiating stem cell-like cells (TICs) isolated from mouse and human liver tumors are chemoresistant, and identification of an approach to abrogate this resistance is desired. In search of a compound that rescinds resistance of TICs to mTORC1 inhibition and improves chemotherapy, we identified baicalein (BC), which selectively chemosensitizes TICs and the human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line Huh7 cells but not mouse and human primary hepatocytes. Nanobead pull-down and mass-spectrometric analysis, biochemical binding assay, and three-dimensional computational modeling studies reveal BC's ability to competitively inhibit guanosine triphosphate binding of SAR1B guanosine triphosphatase, which is essential for autophagy. Indeed, BC suppresses autophagy induced by an mTORC1 inhibitor and synergizes cell death caused by mTORC1 inhibition in TIC and Huh7 spheroid formation and in the patient-derived xenograft model of HCC. The BC-induced chemosensitization is rescued by SAR1B expression and phenocopied by SAR1B knockdown in cancer cells treated with a mTORC1 inhibitor. Conclusion: These results identify SAR1B as a target in liver TICs and HCC cells resistant to mTORC1 inhibition.

International Space Station conditions alter genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics in Aspergillus nidulans.

The first global genomic, proteomic, and secondary metabolomic characterization of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans following growth onboard the International Space Station (ISS) is reported. The investigation included the A. nidulans wild-type and three mutant strains, two of which were genetically engineered to enhance secondary metabolite production. Whole genome sequencing revealed that ISS conditions altered the A. nidulans genome in specific regions. In strain CW12001, which features overexpression of the secondary metabolite global regulator laeA, ISS conditions induced the loss of the laeA stop codon. Differential expression of proteins involved in stress response, carbohydrate metabolic processes, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis was also observed. ISS conditions significantly decreased prenyl xanthone production in the wild-type strain and increased asperthecin production in LO1362 and CW12001, which are deficient in a major DNA repair mechanism. These data provide valuable insights into the adaptation mechanism of A. nidulans to spacecraft environments.

Discovery of McrA, a master regulator of Aspergillus secondary metabolism.

Fungal secondary metabolites (SMs) are extremely important in medicine and agriculture, but regulation of their biosynthesis is incompletely understood. We have developed a genetic screen in Aspergillus nidulans for negative regulators of fungal SM gene clusters and we have used this screen to isolate mutations that upregulate transcription of the non-ribosomal peptide synthetase gene required for nidulanin A biosynthesis. Several of these mutations are allelic and we have identified the mutant gene by genome sequencing. The gene, which we designate mcrA, is conserved but uncharacterized, and it encodes a putative transcription factor. Metabolite profiles of mcrA deletant, mcrA overexpressing, and parental strains reveal that mcrA regulates at least ten SM gene clusters. Deletion of mcrA stimulates SM production even in strains carrying a deletion of the SM regulator laeA, and deletion of mcrA homologs in Aspergillus terreus and Penicillum canescens alters the secondary metabolite profile of these organisms. Deleting mcrA in a genetic dereplication strain has allowed us to discover two novel compounds as well as an antibiotic not known to be produced by A. nidulans. Deletion of mcrA upregulates transcription of hundreds of genes including many that are involved in secondary metabolism, while downregulating a smaller number of genes.

Genome-based deletion analysis in Aspergillus terreus reveals the acetylaranotin bis-thiomethyltransferase gene.

Acetylaranotin is an epipolythiodiketopiperazine (ETP) secondary metabolite with a broad range of bioactivities. We demonstrated that ATEG_01465.1 located outside of acetylaranotin gene cluster is responsible for catalyzing the S-methylation of its biosynthetic pathway. Combining the previous characterization of acetylaranotin biosynthetic gene cluster together with the identification of its S-methyltransferase provides a means to obtain second-generation acetylaranotin derivatives previously inaccessible. By permutations of targeted deletions of ATEG_01465.1, acetyltransferase (AtaH), and benzoate hydroxylase (AtaY), three novel acetylaranotin derivatives were produced by Aspergillus terreus.

Overexpression of a three-gene conidial pigment biosynthetic pathway in Aspergillus nidulans reveals the first NRPS known to acetylate tryptophan.

Fungal nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) are megasynthetases that produce cyclic and acyclic peptides. In Aspergillus nidulans, the NRPS ivoA (AN10576) has been associated with the biosynthesis of grey-brown conidiophore pigments. Another gene, ivoB (AN0231), has been demonstrated to be an N-acetyl-6-hydroxytryptophan oxidase that putatively acts downstream of IvoA. A third gene, ivoC, has also been predicted to be involved in pigment biosynthesis based on publicly available genomic and transcriptomic information. In this paper, we report the replacement of the promoters of the ivoA, ivoB, and ivoC genes with the inducible promoter alcA in a single cotransformation. Co-overexpression of the three genes resulted in the production of a dark-brown pigment in hyphae. In addition, overexpression of each of the Ivo genes, ivoA-C, individually or in combination, allowed us to isolate intermediates and confirm the function of each gene. IvoA was found to be the first known NRPS to carry out the acetylation of the amino acid, tryptophan.

Characterization of the product of a nonribosomal peptide synthetase-like (NRPS-like) gene using the doxycycline dependent Tet-on system in Aspergillus terreus.

Genome sequencing of the fungus Aspergillus terreus uncovered a number of silent core structural biosynthetic genes encoding enzymes presumed to be involved in the production of cryptic secondary metabolites. There are five nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS)-like genes with the predicted A-T-TE domain architecture within the A. terreus genome. Among the five genes, only the product of pgnA remains unknown. The Tet-on system is an inducible, tunable and metabolism-independent expression system originally developed for Aspergillus niger. Here we report the adoption of the Tet-on system as an effective gene activation tool in A. terreus. Application of this system in A. terreus allowed us to uncover the product of the cryptic NRPS-like gene, pgnA. Furthermore expression of pgnA in the heterologous Aspergillus nidulans host suggested that the pgnA gene alone is necessary for phenguignardic acid (1) biosynthesis.

Prototype of an intertwined secondary-metabolite supercluster.

The hallmark trait of fungal secondary-metabolite gene clusters is well established, consisting of contiguous enzymatic and often regulatory gene(s) devoted to the production of a metabolite of a specific chemical class. Unexpectedly, we have found a deviation from this motif in a subtelomeric region of Aspergillus fumigatus. This region, under the control of the master regulator of secondary metabolism, LaeA, contains, in its entirety, the genetic machinery for three natural products (fumitremorgin, fumagillin, and pseurotin), where genes for fumagillin and pseurotin are physically intertwined in a single supercluster. Deletions of 29 adjoining genes revealed that fumagillin and pseurotin are coregulated by the supercluster-embedded regulatory gene with biosynthetic genes belonging to one of the two metabolic pathways in a noncontiguous manner. Comparative genomics indicates the fumagillin/pseurotin supercluster is maintained in a rapidly evolving region of diverse fungal genomes. This blended design confounds predictions from established secondary-metabolite cluster search algorithms and provides an expanded view of natural product evolution.

Development of Genetic Dereplication Strains in Aspergillus nidulans Results in the Discovery of Aspercryptin.

To reduce the secondary metabolite background in Aspergillus nidulans and minimize the rediscovery of compounds and pathway intermediates, we created a "genetic dereplication" strain in which we deleted eight of the most highly expressed secondary metabolite gene clusters (more than 244,000 base pairs deleted in total). This strain allowed us to discover a novel compound that we designate aspercryptin and to propose a biosynthetic pathway for the compound. Interestingly, aspercryptin is formed from compounds produced by two separate gene clusters, one of which makes the well-known product cichorine. This raises the exciting possibility that fungi use differential regulation of expression of secondary metabolite gene clusters to increase the diversity of metabolites they produce.

Low-volume toolbox for the discovery of immunosuppressive fungal secondary metabolites.

The secondary metabolome provides pathogenic fungi with a plethoric and versatile panel of molecules that can be deployed during host ingress. While powerful genetic and analytical chemistry methods have been developed to identify fungal secondary metabolites (SMs), discovering the biological activity of SMs remains an elusive yet critical task. Here, we describe a process for identifying the immunosuppressive properties of Aspergillus SMs developed by coupling a cost-effective microfluidic neutrophil chemotaxis assay with an in vivo zebrafish assay. The microfluidic platform allows the identification of metabolites inhibiting neutrophil recruitment with as little as several nano-grams of compound in microliters of fluid. The zebrafish assay demonstrates a simple and accessible approach for performing in vivo studies without requiring any manipulation of the fish. Using this methodology we identify the immunosuppressive properties of a fungal SM, endocrocin. We find that endocrocin is localized in Aspergillus fumigatus spores and its biosynthesis is temperature-dependent. Finally, using the Drosophila toll deficient model, we find that deletion of encA, encoding the polyketide synthase required for endocrocin production, yields a less pathogenic strain of A. fumigatus when spores are harvested from endocrocin permissive but not when harvested from endocrocin restrictive conditions. The tools developed here will open new "function-omic" avenues downstream of the metabolomics, identification, and purification phases.

VeA and MvlA repression of the cryptic orsellinic acid gene cluster in Aspergillus nidulans involves histone 3 acetylation.

A perplexing aspect of fungal secondary metabolite gene clusters is that most clusters remain 'silent' under common laboratory growth conditions where activation is obtained through gene manipulation or encounters with environmental signals. Few proteins have been found involved in repression of silent clusters. Through multicopy suppressor mutagenesis, we have identified a novel cluster suppressor in Aspergillus nidulans, MvlA (modulator of veA loss). Genetic assessment of MvlA mutants revealed the role of both itself and VeA (but not the VeA partner LaeA) in the suppression of the cryptic ors gene cluster producing orsellinic acid and its F9775 derivatives. Loss of veA upregulates F9775A and F9775B production and this increase is reduced 4-5-fold when an overexpression mvlA (OE:mvlA) allele is introduced into the ΔveA background. Previous studies have implicated a positive role for GcnE (H3K9 acetyltransferase of the SAGA/ADA complex) in ors cluster expression and here we find expression of gcnE is upregulated in ΔveA and suppressed by OE:mvlA in the ΔveA background. H3K9 acetylation levels of ors cluster genes correlated with gcnE expression and F9775 production in ΔveA and OE:mvlAΔveA strains. Finally, deletion of gcnE in the ΔveA background abolishes ors cluster activation and F9775 production. Together, this work supports a role for VeA and MvlA in modifying SAGA/ADA complex activity.

Inhibition of Tau aggregation by three Aspergillus nidulans secondary metabolites: 2,ω-dihydroxyemodin, asperthecin, and asperbenzaldehyde.

The aggregation of the microtubule-associated protein tau is a significant event in many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease. The inhibition or reversal of tau aggregation is therefore a potential therapeutic strategy for these diseases. Fungal natural products have proven to be a rich source of useful compounds having wide varieties of biological activity. We have screened Aspergillus nidulans secondary metabolites containing aromatic ring structures for their ability to inhibit tau aggregation in vitro using an arachidonic acid polymerization protocol and the previously identified aggregation inhibitor emodin as a positive control. While several compounds showed some activity, 2,ω-dihydroxyemodin, asperthecin, and asperbenzaldehyde were potent aggregation inhibitors as determined by both a filter trap assay and electron microscopy. In this study, these three compounds were stronger inhibitors than emodin, which has been shown in a prior study to inhibit the heparin induction of tau aggregation with an IC50 of 1-5 µM. Additionally, 2,ω-dihydroxyemodin, asperthecin, and asperbenzaldehyde reduced, but did not block, tau stabilization of microtubules. 2,ω-Dihydroxyemodin and asperthecin have similar structures to previously identified tau aggregation inhibitors, while asperbenzaldehyde represents a new class of compounds with tau aggregation inhibitor activity. Asperbenzaldehyde can be readily modified into compounds with strong lipoxygenase inhibitor activity, suggesting that compounds derived from asperbenzaldehyde could have dual activity. Together, our data demonstrates the potential of 2,ω-dihydroxyemodin, asperthecin, and asperbenzaldehyde as lead compounds for further development as therapeutics to inhibit tau aggregation in Alzheimer's disease and neurodegenerative tauopathies.