Author
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GROSS, HARALD - University Of Bonn |
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Loper, Joyce |
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Submitted to: Natural Product Reports
Publication Type: Review Article Publication Acceptance Date: 8/28/2009 Publication Date: 10/1/2009 Citation: Gross, H., Loper, J.E. 2009. Genomics of secondary metabolism in Pseudomonas spp. Natural Product Reports. 26:1408-46. Interpretive Summary: There have been huge advances in the field of genomics during the past decade, and the genomes of thousands of organisms have now been sequenced to completion. One of the benefits resulting from these advances is the identification of new natural products, which are chemical compounds produced naturally by microorganisms, many of which have therapeutic value for agriculture or medicine. Our laboratory focuses on Pseudomonas, a group of bacteria that are widespread in nature. In this article, we provide an overview of the natural products produced by Pseudomonas from the perspective of chemistry and genomics. We describe two compounds that we identified using our new knowledge of genomics as a guide. Technical Abstract: Pseudomonas is a heterogeneous genus of bacteria known for its ubiquity in natural habitats and its prolific production of secondary metabolites. The structurally diverse chemical structures produced by Pseudomonas spp. result from biosynthetic processes with unusual features that have revealed novel biochemistry. The high degree of ecological and metabolic diversity represented in Pseudomonas spp. is reflected in the genomic diversity displayed among species. Metabolic gene clusters are commonly associated with strain- or lineage-specific regions of the genome, collectively representing up to 6% of the genomes of some strains. Through combined bioinformatic and chemical analyses, the products of several orphan gene clusters in Pseudomonas genomes have been identified and characterized. Future exploration of orphan gene clusters is likely to further expand the spectrum of secondary metabolites known to be produced by the Pseudomonas spp. |
