Recent developments of tools for genome and metabolome studies in basidiomycete fungi and their application to natural product research
- Author: mycolabadmin
- 12/2/2020
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Summary
Mushrooms and related fungi in the basidiomycete group produce many useful medicines and agricultural chemicals. Scientists have traditionally struggled to study these fungi because they grow slowly and have complex genomes. Recent technological breakthroughs—including faster DNA sequencing and gene-editing tools—are now making it much easier to discover and understand the helpful compounds these fungi produce, potentially leading to new medicines.
Background
Basidiomycota are a large and diverse phylum of fungi capable of producing bioactive metabolites used in antibiotics and agrochemicals. However, natural product discovery in basidiomycete fungi has been limited by their slow growth and complex genome architecture. Recent technological advances are now enabling easier access to their secondary metabolomes.
Objective
To review recent developments in genome sequencing, metabolome analysis tools, and genetic engineering techniques that facilitate natural product discovery and characterization in basidiomycete fungi. The review discusses how these combined technological advances are prompting renewed interest in basidiomycete natural product research.
Results
The review identifies key technological advances including nanopore sequencing for high-quality genome assembly, CRISPR/Cas9 platforms developed for various basidiomycete fungi, heterologous expression systems in bacteria and yeasts, and molecular networking tools like GNPS for metabolite characterization and dereplication.
Conclusion
Recent developments in molecular tools are significantly advancing natural product discovery in basidiomycete fungi. Future improvements in genetic engineering, heterologous expression hosts, and in silico prediction of natural product structures will enhance the ability to discover and characterize bioactive compounds from this prolific fungal phylum.
- Published in:Biology Open,
- Study Type:Review,
- Source: PMID: 33268478, DOI: 10.1242/bio.056010