Phytotoxin production in Aspergillus terreus is regulated by independent environmental signals
Secondary metabolites have a great potential as pharmaceuticals, but there are only a few examples where regulation of gene cluster expression has been correlated with ecological and physiological relevance for the producer. Here, signals, mediators, and biological effects of terrein production were...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
eLife Sciences Publications
2015
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41298/ |
| _version_ | 1848796242946031616 |
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| author | Gressler, Markus Meyer, Florian Heine, Daniel Hortschansky, Peter Hertweck, Christian Brock, Matthias |
| author_facet | Gressler, Markus Meyer, Florian Heine, Daniel Hortschansky, Peter Hertweck, Christian Brock, Matthias |
| author_sort | Gressler, Markus |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Secondary metabolites have a great potential as pharmaceuticals, but there are only a few examples where regulation of gene cluster expression has been correlated with ecological and physiological relevance for the producer. Here, signals, mediators, and biological effects of terrein production were studied in the fungus Aspergillus terreus to elucidate the contribution of terrein to ecological competition. Terrein causes fruit surface lesions and inhibits plant seed germination. Additionally, terrein is moderately antifungal and reduces ferric iron, thereby supporting growth of A. terreus under iron starvation. In accordance, the lack of nitrogen or iron or elevated methionine levels induced terrein production and was dependent on either the nitrogen response regulators AreA and AtfA or the iron response regulator HapX. Independent signal transduction allows complex sensing of the environment and, combined with its broad spectrum of biological activities, terrein provides a prominent example of adapted secondary metabolite production in response to environmental competition. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:44:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-41298 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:44:53Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-412982020-05-04T17:13:09Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41298/ Phytotoxin production in Aspergillus terreus is regulated by independent environmental signals Gressler, Markus Meyer, Florian Heine, Daniel Hortschansky, Peter Hertweck, Christian Brock, Matthias Secondary metabolites have a great potential as pharmaceuticals, but there are only a few examples where regulation of gene cluster expression has been correlated with ecological and physiological relevance for the producer. Here, signals, mediators, and biological effects of terrein production were studied in the fungus Aspergillus terreus to elucidate the contribution of terrein to ecological competition. Terrein causes fruit surface lesions and inhibits plant seed germination. Additionally, terrein is moderately antifungal and reduces ferric iron, thereby supporting growth of A. terreus under iron starvation. In accordance, the lack of nitrogen or iron or elevated methionine levels induced terrein production and was dependent on either the nitrogen response regulators AreA and AtfA or the iron response regulator HapX. Independent signal transduction allows complex sensing of the environment and, combined with its broad spectrum of biological activities, terrein provides a prominent example of adapted secondary metabolite production in response to environmental competition. eLife Sciences Publications 2015-07-14 Article PeerReviewed Gressler, Markus, Meyer, Florian, Heine, Daniel, Hortschansky, Peter, Hertweck, Christian and Brock, Matthias (2015) Phytotoxin production in Aspergillus terreus is regulated by independent environmental signals. eLife, 4 . e07861. ISSN 2050-084X https://elifesciences.org/content/4/e07861/abstract doi:10.7554/eLife.07861.001 doi:10.7554/eLife.07861.001 |
| spellingShingle | Gressler, Markus Meyer, Florian Heine, Daniel Hortschansky, Peter Hertweck, Christian Brock, Matthias Phytotoxin production in Aspergillus terreus is regulated by independent environmental signals |
| title | Phytotoxin production in Aspergillus terreus is regulated by independent environmental signals |
| title_full | Phytotoxin production in Aspergillus terreus is regulated by independent environmental signals |
| title_fullStr | Phytotoxin production in Aspergillus terreus is regulated by independent environmental signals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phytotoxin production in Aspergillus terreus is regulated by independent environmental signals |
| title_short | Phytotoxin production in Aspergillus terreus is regulated by independent environmental signals |
| title_sort | phytotoxin production in aspergillus terreus is regulated by independent environmental signals |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41298/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41298/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41298/ |