Localization of ergot alkaloids in sclerotia of Claviceps purpurea by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging.

The fungus Claviceps purpurea produces highly toxic ergot alkaloids and accumulates these in the hardened bodies of fungal mycelium. These so-called sclerotia, or ergot bodies, replace the crop seed of infected plants, which can include numerous important food- and feedstuff such as rye and wheat. While several studies have explored details of the infection process and development of ergot bodies, little information is available on the spatial distribution of the mycotoxins in the sclerotia. Here we used matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) at a lateral resolution of 35 µm to visualize the distribution of two representative alkaloids, ergocristine and ergometrine, produced by Ecc93 and Gal 310 variants of C. purpurea, respectively, after infection of rye. To improve cryosectioning of this fragile biological material tissue with complex texture, we developed a practical embedding protocol based on cellulose polymers. The MALDI-MS images recorded from the so produced intact tissues sections revealed that ergometrine exhibited a relatively homogeneous distribution throughout the ergot body, whereas ergocristine was found to be enriched in the proximal region. This finding can be correlated to the morphological development of sclerotia as ergot alkaloids are only produced in the sphacelial stage. The ability to localize toxins and other secondary metabolites in intact sections of crop-infecting fungi with high lateral resolution renders MALDI-MSI a powerful tool for investigating biosynthetic pathways and for obtaining a deeper understanding of the parasite-host interaction. Graphical abstract Workflow for identification and spatial localization of ergot alkaloids in infected rye grains.

The Epipolythiodiketopiperazine Gene Cluster in Claviceps purpurea: Dysfunctional Cytochrome P450 Enzyme Prevents Formation of the Previously Unknown Clapurines.

Claviceps purpurea is an important food contaminant and well known for the production of the toxic ergot alkaloids. Apart from that, little is known about its secondary metabolism and not all toxic substances going along with the food contamination with Claviceps are known yet. We explored the metabolite profile of a gene cluster in C. purpurea with a high homology to gene clusters, which are responsible for the formation of epipolythiodiketopiperazine (ETP) toxins in other fungi. By overexpressing the transcription factor, we were able to activate the cluster in the standard C. purpurea strain 20.1. Although all necessary genes for the formation of the characteristic disulfide bridge were expressed in the overexpression mutants, the fungus did not produce any ETPs. Isolation of pathway intermediates showed that the common biosynthetic pathway stops after the first steps. Our results demonstrate that hydroxylation of the diketopiperazine backbone is the critical step during the ETP biosynthesis. Due to a dysfunctional enzyme, the fungus is not able to produce toxic ETPs. Instead, the pathway end-products are new unusual metabolites with a unique nitrogen-sulfur bond. By heterologous expression of the Leptosphaeria maculans cytochrome P450 encoding gene sirC, we were able to identify the end-products of the ETP cluster in C. purpurea. The thioclapurines are so far unknown ETPs, which might contribute to the toxicity of other C. purpurea strains with a potentially intact ETP cluster.

Identification and characterization of the ergochrome gene cluster in the plant pathogenic fungus Claviceps purpurea.

BACKGROUND: Claviceps purpurea is a phytopathogenic fungus infecting a broad range of grasses including economically important cereal crop plants. The infection cycle ends with the formation of the typical purple-black pigmented sclerotia containing the toxic ergot alkaloids. Besides these ergot alkaloids little is known about the secondary metabolism of the fungus. Red anthraquinone derivatives and yellow xanthone dimers (ergochromes) have been isolated from sclerotia and described as ergot pigments, but the corresponding gene cluster has remained unknown. Fungal pigments gain increasing interest for example as environmentally friendly alternatives to existing dyes. Furthermore, several pigments show biological activities and may have some pharmaceutical value. RESULTS: This study identified the gene cluster responsible for the synthesis of the ergot pigments. Overexpression of the cluster-specific transcription factor led to activation of the gene cluster and to the production of several known ergot pigments. Knock out of the cluster key enzyme, a nonreducing polyketide synthase, clearly showed that this cluster is responsible for the production of red anthraquinones as well as yellow ergochromes. Furthermore, a tentative biosynthetic pathway for the ergot pigments is proposed. By changing the culture conditions, pigment production was activated in axenic culture so that high concentration of phosphate and low concentration of sucrose induced pigment syntheses. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first functional analysis of a secondary metabolite gene cluster in the ergot fungus besides that for the classical ergot alkaloids. We demonstrated that this gene cluster is responsible for the typical purple-black color of the ergot sclerotia and showed that the red and yellow ergot pigments are products of the same biosynthetic pathway. Activation of the gene cluster in axenic culture opened up new possibilities for biotechnological applications like the dye production or the development of new pharmaceuticals.

Biosynthetic pathways of ergot alkaloids.

Ergot alkaloids are nitrogen-containing natural products belonging to indole alkaloids. The best known producers are fungi of the phylum Ascomycota, e.g., Claviceps, Epichloë, Penicillium and Aspergillus species. According to their structures, ergot alkaloids can be divided into three groups: clavines, lysergic acid amides and peptides (ergopeptines). All of them share the first biosynthetic steps, which lead to the formation of the tetracyclic ergoline ring system (except the simplest, tricyclic compound: chanoclavine). Different modifications on the ergoline ring by specific enzymes result in an abundance of bioactive natural products, which are used as pharmaceutical drugs or precursors thereof. From the 1950s through to recent years, most of the biosynthetic pathways have been elucidated. Gene clusters from several ergot alkaloid producers have been identified by genome mining and the functions of many of those genes have been demonstrated by knock-out experiments or biochemical investigations of the overproduced enzymes.