Aspergillus fumigatus alb1 encodes naphthopyrone synthase when expressed in Aspergillus oryzae.
Conidial pigment biosynthesis is an important virulence factor in Aspergillus fumigatus, a human fungal pathogen. Involvement of DHN-melanin pathway in the biosynthesis of A. fumigatus conidial pigment implies that the Alb1p polyketide synthase (PKS) is a 1,3,6, 8-tetrahydroxynaphthalene (T4HN) synthase. The Alb1p, however, shows higher sequence similarity to a naphthopyrone synthase than to a T4HN synthase. To clarify the function of Alb1p, the alb1 gene was overexpressed in a heterologous host Aspergillus oryzae. The Alb1p PKS product in this heterologous expression system was identified as heptaketide naphthopyrone instead of pentaketide T4HN. The data suggest that Alb1p is a naphthopyrone synthase.
Watanabe
A
A
Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Japan.
Fujii
I
I
Tsai
H
H
Chang
Y C
YC
Kwon-Chung
K J
KJ
Ebizuka
Y
Y
D001232:Aspergillus fumigatus / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D001236:Aspergillus oryzae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods; D008543:Melanins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014170:Transformation, Genetic / Q000235:genetics
D008543:Melanins; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes