title: A genomics based discovery of secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters in Aspergillus ustus.
abstract: Secondary metabolites (SMs) produced by Aspergillus have been extensively studied for their crucial roles in human health, medicine and industrial production. However, the resulting information is almost exclusively derived from a few model organisms, including A. nidulans and A. fumigatus, but little is known about rare pathogens. In this study, we performed a genomics based discovery of SM biosynthetic gene clusters in Aspergillus ustus, a rare human pathogen. A total of 52 gene clusters were identified in the draft genome of A. ustus 3.3904, such as the sterigmatocystin biosynthesis pathway that was commonly found in Aspergillus species. In addition, several SM biosynthetic gene clusters were firstly identified in Aspergillus that were possibly acquired by horizontal gene transfer, including the vrt cluster that is responsible for viridicatumtoxin production. Comparative genomics revealed that A. ustus shared the largest number of SM biosynthetic gene clusters with A. nidulans, but much fewer with other Aspergilli like A. niger and A. oryzae. These findings would help to understand the diversity and evolution of SM biosynthesis pathways in genus Aspergillus, and we hope they will also promote the development of fungal identification methodology in clinic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310016, China.
authors.forename: Borui
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pi
authors.affiliation: College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310036, China.
authors.forename: Dongliang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Center of Experimental Animals, Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310013, China.
authors.forename: Fangwei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Animal Centre of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310036, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310058, China.
authors.forename: Congyi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310058, China.
authors.forename: Hongye
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310016, China.
authors.forename: Yunsong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D001230:Aspergillus / Q000235:genetics*; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways / Q000235:genetics*; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D016681:Genome, Fungal; D023281:Genomics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family