Fungi produce numerous low molecular weight molecules endowed with a multitude of biological activities. However, mining the full-genome sequences ...

Here, the authors establish and validate two black yeasts as heterologous hosts for fungal polyketide discovery and production, combining the metabolic robustness of filamentous Aspergillus species wi...

Here, the authors establish and validate two black yeasts as heterologous hosts for fungal polyketide discovery and production, combining the metabolic robustness of filamentous Aspergillus species wi...

Fungal polyketides represent a treasure trove of industrially relevant compounds, yet sustainable high-level production can be challenging. Black yeasts have emerged as promising heterologous hosts fo...

Here, the authors establish and validate two black yeasts as heterologous hosts for fungal polyketide discovery and production, combining the metabolic robustness of filamentous Aspergillus species wi...

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Abstract. Chaetophenols (CPs) are structurally diverse aromatic polyketides that have been isolated from Chaetomium fungi. They exhibit two distinct prenyl

In natural chemical mixtures, a few molecules matter far more than their abundance suggests. Two recent studies identify defensive polyketides in estuarine mudflats and root exudate metabolites in a nitrogen-limited rhizosphere as compounds that restructure communities at trace concentrations, providing convergent evidence for candidate keystone molecules at the molecular scale.

Polyketides and nonribosomal peptides are families of natural products with diverse applications in medicine (e.g. as antibiotics, anticancer agents, and immunomodulators) and agriculture (e.g. as insecticides, herbicides and fungicides). In bacteria, these metabolite families are typically assembled by PKS and NRPS modular multienzymes, respectively, which condense and modify a series of (alkyl)malonyl, or aminoacyl building blocks1,2. The alkyl(malonyl) building blocks employed by PKSs are coenzyme A (CoA) thioester derivatives, which are activated towards condensation. In contrast, NRPSs employ amino acids as substrates, which require activation to enable them to be condensed. Thus, acyltransferase (AT) domains are used by PKSs to transfer an acyl or (alkyl)malonyl starter unit and (alkyl)malonyl extender units from CoA to the phosphopantetheine prosthetic group of acyl carrier protein (ACP) domains in the chain initiation module and each chain extension module, respectively3. On the other hand, NRPSs use adenylation (A) domains to first activate amino (and other) acids via reaction with ATP, forming aminoacyl adenylates, then transfer the aminoacyl groups onto the phosphopantethiene thiols of peptidyl carrier protein (PCP) domains in each module4. Ketosynthase (KS) domains in each chain elongating module of PKSs receive the acyl group attached to the ACP domain in the preceding module onto...

Read the full paper: Marine-Derived Polyketides from Penicillium sp. Enhance Cutaneous Wound Healing through Metabolic and Regenerative Signaling

Decarboxylative condensation drives chain elongation and translocation of polyketides and fatty acids. However, the mechanism by which nonelongating modules in trans-acyltransferase polyketide synthases (trans-AT PKSs) enable intramodular polyketide chain translocation without decarboxylation remains poorly understood. Here we elucidate a condensation-independent intramodular translocation mechanism in which KS0 within the nonelongating module operates as a transacylase, directly translocating the polyketide chain to its downstream cognate acyl carrier protein (ACP). Notably, the inherent demalonylation activity of trans-ATHtmA7 facilitates efficient ACP recycling ensuring intramodular translocation. Structural modeling and site-directed mutagenesis studies uncover a conserved KS0–ACP binding mode that underpins intramodular translocation across diverse nonelongating modules. Additionally, the strict discrimination of polyketide intermediate by the nonelongating module highlights its c

Abstract. The design of pathways to synthesize valuable molecules remains a central challenge in chemistry and biotechnology. Several computational retrosy

The development of green biomanufacturing technologies centered around advanced microbial cells has emerged as a hot research field in synthetic biolo…

Covering: 2005 to July 2025Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), emerging as one of the most common multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial strains, has posed a serious threat to global heal...