polyketides
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyElucidating the Diversity and Potential Function of Nonribosomal Peptide and Polyketide Biosynthetic Gene Clusters in the Root MicrobiomeWe identified distinct secondary-metabolite-encoding genes that are enriched (relative to adjacent bulk soil) and expressed in root ecosystems yet almost completely absent in human gut and aquatic environments. Several of the genes were distantly related to genes encoding antimicrobials and siderophores, and their high sequence variability relative to known sequences suggests that they may encode novel metabolites and may have unique...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceMarine Sediments Hold an Untapped Potential for Novel Taxonomic and Bioactive Bacterial DiversitySince bacterial resistance to antibiotics is developing worldwide, new antibiotics are needed. Most antibiotics discovered so far have been found in soil-dwelling bacteria, so we instead targeted marine environments as a novel source of bioactive potential. We used amplicon sequencing of bioactive gene clusters in the microbiome of coastal seawater and sandy sediments and found the bioactive potential to be comparable to, but distinct...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyIncreased Biosynthetic Gene Dosage in a Genome-Reduced Defensive Bacterial SymbiontSecondary metabolites, which are small-molecule organic compounds produced by living organisms, provide or inspire drugs for many different diseases. These natural products have evolved over millions of years to provide a survival benefit to the producing organism and often display potent biological activity with important therapeutic applications. For instance, defensive compounds in the environment may be cytotoxic to eukaryotic cells...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyLarge-Scale Bioinformatics Analysis of Bacillus Genomes Uncovers Conserved Roles of Natural Products in Bacterial PhysiologyBacilli are capable of producing a diverse array of specialized metabolites, many of which have gained attention for their roles as signals that affect bacterial physiology and development. Up to this point, however, the Bacillus genus’s metabolic capacity has been underexplored. We undertook a deep genomic analysis of 1,566 Bacillus genomes to understand the full spectrum of metabolites that this bacterial...