title: A putative gene cluster from a Lyngbya wollei bloom that encodes paralytic shellfish toxin biosynthesis.
abstract: Saxitoxin and its analogs cause the paralytic shellfish-poisoning syndrome, adversely affecting human health and coastal shellfish industries worldwide. Here we report the isolation, sequencing, annotation, and predicted pathway of the saxitoxin biosynthetic gene cluster in the cyanobacterium Lyngbya wollei. The gene cluster spans 36 kb and encodes enzymes for the biosynthesis and export of the toxins. The Lyngbya wollei saxitoxin gene cluster differs from previously identified saxitoxin clusters as it contains genes that are unique to this cluster, whereby the carbamoyltransferase is truncated and replaced by an acyltransferase, explaining the unique toxin profile presented by Lyngbya wollei. These findings will enable the creation of toxin probes, for water monitoring purposes, as well as proof-of-concept for the combinatorial biosynthesis of these natural occurring alkaloids for the production of novel, biologically active compounds.
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Troco K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Mihali
authors.forename: Wayne W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Carmichael
authors.forename: Brett A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Neilan
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D019295:Computational Biology; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D057097:Harmful Algal Bloom; D008235:Lyngbya Toxins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics*; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D054300:Oscillatoria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012530:Saxitoxin / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D008235:Lyngbya Toxins; D012530:Saxitoxin