An environmental bacterial taxon with a large and distinct metabolic repertoire.
Cultivated bacteria such as actinomycetes are a highly useful source of biomedically important natural products. However, such 'talented' producers represent only a minute fraction of the entire, mostly uncultivated, prokaryotic diversity. The uncultured majority is generally perceived as a large, untapped resource of new drug candidates, but so far it is unknown whether taxa containing talented bacteria indeed exist. Here we report the single-cell- and metagenomics-based discovery of such producers. Two phylotypes of the candidate genus 'Entotheonella' with genomes of greater than 9 megabases and multiple, distinct biosynthetic gene clusters co-inhabit the chemically and microbially rich marine sponge Theonella swinhoei. Almost all bioactive polyketides and peptides known from this animal were attributed to a single phylotype. 'Entotheonella' spp. are widely distributed in sponges and belong to an environmental taxon proposed here as candidate phylum 'Tectomicrobia'. The pronounced bioactivities and chemical uniqueness of 'Entotheonella' compounds provide significant opportunities for ecological studies and drug discovery.
1] Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland [2] Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Strasse 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany [3].
Micheal C
MC
Wilson
1] Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University Center for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, 2-2 Wakamatsu-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8480, Japan [2].
Tetsushi
T
Mori
Institute for Genome Research and Systems Biology, Center for Biotechnology, Universität Bielefeld, Universitätstrasse 25, 33594 Bielefeld, Germany.
Christian
C
Rückert
1] Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland [2] Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Strasse 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany.
Agustinus R
AR
Uria
1] Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland [2] Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Strasse 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany.
Maximilian J
MJ
Helf
Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
Kentaro
K
Takada
Department of Botany II, Julius-von-Sachs Institute for Biological Sciences, University of Würzburg, Julius-von-Sachs-Platz 3, 97082 Würzburg, Germany.
Christine
C
Gernert
Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Strasse 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany.
Ursula A E
UA
Steffens
Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Strasse 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany.
Nina
N
Heycke
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Palaeontology and Geobiology, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Richard-Wagner-Strasse 10, 80333 Munich, Germany.
Susanne
S
Schmitt
Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, California 94598, USA.
Christian
C
Rinke
1] Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland [2] Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Strasse 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany.
Eric J N
EJ
Helfrich
Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
Alexander O
AO
Brachmann
Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Strasse 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany.
Cristian
C
Gurgui
Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
Toshiyuki
T
Wakimoto
Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Strasse 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany.
Matthias
M
Kracht
Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Strasse 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany.
Max
M
Crüsemann
Department of Botany II, Julius-von-Sachs Institute for Biological Sciences, University of Würzburg, Julius-von-Sachs-Platz 3, 97082 Würzburg, Germany.
Ute
U
Hentschel
Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
Ikuro
I
Abe
Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
Shigeki
S
Matsunaga
Institute for Genome Research and Systems Biology, Center for Biotechnology, Universität Bielefeld, Universitätstrasse 25, 33594 Bielefeld, Germany.
Jörn
J
Kalinowski
Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University Center for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, 2-2 Wakamatsu-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8480, Japan.
Haruko
H
Takeyama
1] Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland [2] Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Strasse 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany.
Jörn
J
Piel
D000818:Animals; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways / Q000235:genetics; D020564:Deltaproteobacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D055808:Drug Discovery; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D016680:Genome, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D056186:Metagenomics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics; D010455:Peptides / Q000378:metabolism; D061065:Polyketides / Q000378:metabolism; D011161:Porifera / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis; D013559:Symbiosis
D010455:Peptides; D061065:Polyketides