Knock-down of the methyltransferase Kmt6 reliefs H3K27me3 and results in induction of cryptic and otherwise silent secondary metabolite gene clusters in Fusarium fujikuroi
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ABSTRACT: Knock-down of the methyltransferase Kmt6 reliefs H3K27me3 and results in induction of cryptic and otherwise silent secondary metabolite gene clusters in Fusarium fujikuroi
Project description:Filamentous fungi produce a vast array of secondary metabolites (SMs) and some of them are applied in agriculture or pharmacology. Recent sequencing of the rice pathogen Fusarium fujikuroi revealed the presence of far more SM-encoding genes than known products. SM production is energy-consuming and thus tightly regulated, leaving the majority of SM gene clusters silent under laboratory conditions. It is now well established that one important regulatory layer in SM biosynthesis involves histone modifications that render the genes either silent or poised for transcription. In this study, we show that the majority of the putative SM gene clusters in F. fujikuroi are located within facultative heterochromatin marked by H3K27me3. In this study, we performed comparative transcriptomics of a knock-down mutant of the responsible methyltransferase Kmt6 involved in H3K27 methylation grown on either solid complete medium or solid synthetic ICI medium. Overall four so far cryptic and otherwise silent putative SM gene clusters were significantly induced in the KMT6kd strain accompanied by reduced H3K27me3 levels at the respective gene loci and accumulation of novel metabolites. One of the four putative SM gene clusters, the STC5 gene cluster, was analysed in detail and heterologous expression of the key enzyme allowed for the identification of the first pathway-specific intermediate (1R,4R,5S)-guaia-6,10(14)-diene. 2 strains were analysed in overall two conditions, and each with 3 biological replicates
Project description:Filamentous fungi produce a vast array of secondary metabolites (SMs) and some of them are applied in agriculture or pharmacology. Recent sequencing of the rice pathogen Fusarium fujikuroi revealed the presence of far more SM-encoding genes than known products. SM production is energy-consuming and thus tightly regulated, leaving the majority of SM gene clusters silent under laboratory conditions. It is now well established that one important regulatory layer in SM biosynthesis involves histone modifications that render the genes either silent or poised for transcription. In this study, we show that the majority of the putative SM gene clusters in F. fujikuroi are located within facultative heterochromatin marked by H3K27me3. In this study, we performed comparative transcriptomics of a knock-down mutant of the responsible methyltransferase Kmt6 involved in H3K27 methylation grown on either solid complete medium or solid synthetic ICI medium. Overall four so far cryptic and otherwise silent putative SM gene clusters were significantly induced in the KMT6kd strain accompanied by reduced H3K27me3 levels at the respective gene loci and accumulation of novel metabolites. One of the four putative SM gene clusters, the STC5 gene cluster, was analysed in detail and heterologous expression of the key enzyme allowed for the identification of the first pathway-specific intermediate (1R,4R,5S)-guaia-6,10(14)-diene.
Project description:We performed ChIP-seq of H3K27me3 in wild type Fusarium fujikuroi grown in synthetic ICI medium with low nitrogen conditions. Three replicates of F. fujikuroi wild-type strain were grown in low nitrogen. ChIP-Seq was performed with anti-H3K27me3 antibody.
Project description:Filamentous fungi produce a vast array of secondary metabolites (SMs) and some play a role in agriculture or pharmacology. Sequencing of the rice pathogen Fusarium fujikuroi revealed the presence of far more SM-encoding genes than known products. SM production is energy-consuming and thus tightly regulated, leaving the majority of SM gene clusters silent under laboratory conditions. One important regulatory layer in SM biosynthesis involves histone modifications that render the underlying genes either silent or poised for transcription. Here, we show that the majority of the putative SM gene clusters in F. fujikuroi are located within facultative heterochromatin marked by trimethylated lysine 27 on histone 3 (H3K27me3). Kmt6, the methyltransferase responsible for establishing this histone mark, appears to be essential in this fungus, and knock-down of Kmt6 in the KMT6kd strain shows a drastic phenotype affecting fungal growth and development. Transcription of four so far cryptic and otherwise silent putative SM gene clusters was induced in the KMT6kd strain, in which decreased expression of KMT6 is accompanied by reduced H3K27me3 levels at the respective gene loci and accumulation of novel metabolites. One of the four putative SM gene clusters, named STC5, was analysed in more detail thereby revealing a novel sesquiterpene.
Project description:Knock-down of the methyltransferase Kmt6 reliefs H3K27me3 and induces expression of cryptic otherwise silent secondary metabolite gene clusters in Fusarium fujikuroi [gene expression]
Project description:Knock-down of the methyltransferase Kmt6 reliefs H3K27me3 and results in induction of cryptic and otherwise silent secondary metabolite gene clusters in Fusarium fujikuroi [ChIP-seq]
Project description:We performed genome-wide transcriptome analyses of the Fusarium fujikuroi wild type compared to the ∆lae1 and OE:lae1 mutants under nitrogen limiting and nitrogen sufficient conditions Lae1 was shown to be a master regulator of secondary metabolite gene clusters in F. fujikuroi. Deletion of the gene resulted in down-regulation, while overexpression resulted in up-regulation of several gene clusters, partially even under otherwise repressing conditions.