Draft Genome Sequence of the Symbiotically Competent Cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. Strain KVJ20.

Nostoc sp. strain KVJ20 was isolated from the symbiotic organs of the liverwort Blasia pusilla This cyanobacterium has been shown to have broad symbiotic competence, and bacterial extracts have inhibitory effects on cancer cell lines and microbes. An array of genes for the production of secondary metabolites is present.

The crystal structure of the N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase from Nostoc sp. KVJ10 reveals the true dimer.

N-Acetylglucosamine 2-epimerases (AGEs) catalyze the interconversion of N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmannosamine. They can be used to perform the first step in the synthesis of sialic acid from N-acetylglucosamine, which makes the need for efficient AGEs a priority. This study presents the structure of the AGE from Nostoc sp. KVJ10 collected in northern Norway, referred to as nAGE10. It is the third AGE structure to be published to date, and the first one in space group P42212. The nAGE10 monomer folds as an (α/α)6 barrel in a similar manner to that of the previously published AGEs, but the crystal did not contain the dimers that have previously been reported. The previously proposed `back-to-back' assembly involved the face of the AGE monomer where the barrel helices are connected by small loops. Instead, a `front-to-front' dimer was found in nAGE10 involving the long loops that connect the barrel helices at this end. This assembly is also present in the other AGE structures, but was attributed to crystal packing, even though the `front' interface areas are larger and are more conserved than the `back' interface areas. In addition, the front-to-front association allows a better explanation of the previously reported observations considering surface cysteines. Together, these results indicate that the `front-to-front' dimer is the most probable biological assembly for AGEs.

Genomic Changes Associated with the Evolutionary Transitions of Nostoc to a Plant Symbiont.

Cyanobacteria belonging to the genus Nostoc comprise free-living strains and also facultative plant symbionts. Symbiotic strains can enter into symbiosis with taxonomically diverse range of host plants. Little is known about genomic changes associated with evolutionary transition of Nostoc from free-living to plant symbiont. Here, we compared the genomes derived from 11 symbiotic Nostoc strains isolated from different host plants and infer phylogenetic relationships between strains. Phylogenetic reconstructions of 89 Nostocales showed that symbiotic Nostoc strains with a broad host range, entering epiphytic and intracellular or extracellular endophytic interactions, form a monophyletic clade indicating a common evolutionary history. A polyphyletic origin was found for Nostoc strains which enter only extracellular symbioses, and inference of transfer events implied that this trait was likely acquired several times in the evolution of the Nostocales. Symbiotic Nostoc strains showed enriched functions in transport and metabolism of organic sulfur, chemotaxis and motility, as well as the uptake of phosphate, branched-chain amino acids, and ammonium. The genomes of the intracellular clade differ from that of other Nostoc strains, with a gain/enrichment of genes encoding proteins to generate l-methionine from sulfite and pathways for the degradation of the plant metabolites vanillin and vanillate, and of the macromolecule xylan present in plant cell walls. These compounds could function as C-sources for members of the intracellular clade. Molecular clock analysis indicated that the intracellular clade emerged ca. 600 Ma, suggesting that intracellular Nostoc symbioses predate the origin of land plants and the emergence of their extant hosts.

Isolation and characterization of anti-adenoviral secondary metabolites from marine actinobacteria.

Adenovirus infections in immunocompromised patients are associated with high mortality rates. Currently, there are no effective anti-adenoviral therapies available. It is well known that actinobacteria can produce secondary metabolites that are attractive in drug discovery due to their structural diversity and their evolved interaction with biomolecules. Here, we have established an extract library derived from actinobacteria isolated from Vestfjorden, Norway, and performed a screening campaign to discover anti-adenoviral compounds. One extract with anti-adenoviral activity was found to contain a diastereomeric 1:1 mixture of the butenolide secondary alcohols 1a and 1b. By further cultivation and analysis, we could isolate 1a and 1b in different diastereomeric ratio. In addition, three more anti-adenoviral butenolides 2, 3 and 4 with differences in their side-chains were isolated. In this study, the anti-adenoviral activity of these compounds was characterized and substantial differences in the cytotoxic potential between the butenolide analogs were observed. The most potent butenolide analog 3 displayed an EC50 value of 91 µM and no prominent cytotoxicity at 2 mM. Furthermore, we propose a biosynthetic pathway for these compounds based on their relative time of appearance and structure.