Issue 2, 2016

Unique marine derived cyanobacterial biosynthetic genes for chemical diversity

Abstract

Covering: 2010 to July 2015. Previous review: Nat. Prod. Rep., 2010, 27, 1048-1065

Cyanobacteria are a prolific source of structurally unique and biologically active natural products that derive from intriguing biochemical pathways. Advancements in genome sequencing have accelerated the identification of unique modular biosynthetic gene clusters in cyanobacteria and reveal a wealth of unusual enzymatic reactions involved in their construction. This article examines several interesting mechanistic transformations involved in cyanobacterial secondary metabolite biosynthesis with a particular focus on marine derived modular polyketide synthases (PKS), nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS) and combinations thereof to form hybrid natural products. Further, we focus on the cyanobacterial genus Moorea and the co-evolution of its enzyme cassettes that create metabolic diversity. Progress in the development of heterologous expression systems for cyanobacterial gene clusters along with chemoenzymatic synthesis makes it possible to create new analogs. Additionally, phylum-wide genome sequencing projects have enhanced the discovery rate of new natural products and their distinctive enzymatic reactions. Summarizing, cyanobacterial biosynthetic gene clusters encode for a large toolbox of novel enzymes that catalyze unique chemical reactions, some of which may be useful in synthetic biology.

Graphical abstract: Unique marine derived cyanobacterial biosynthetic genes for chemical diversity

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
16 8 2015
First published
13 1 2016

Nat. Prod. Rep., 2016,33, 348-364

Author version available

Unique marine derived cyanobacterial biosynthetic genes for chemical diversity

K. Kleigrewe, L. Gerwick, D. H. Sherman and W. H. Gerwick, Nat. Prod. Rep., 2016, 33, 348 DOI: 10.1039/C5NP00097A

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