An environmental bacterial taxon with a large and distinct metabolic repertoire

Micheal C. Wilson, Tetsushi Mori, Christian Rückert, Agustinus R. Uria, Maximilian J. Helf, Kentaro Takada, Christine Gernert, Ursula A. E. Steffens, Nina Heycke, Susanne Schmitt, Christian Rinke, Eric J. N. Helfrich, Alexander O. Brachmann, Cristian Gurgui, Toshiyuki Wakimoto, Matthias Kracht, Max Crüsemann, Ute Hentschel, Ikuro Abe, Shigeki Matsunaga, Jörn Kalinowski, Haruko Takeyama and Jörn Piel ()
Additional contact information
Micheal C. Wilson: Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Tetsushi Mori: Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University Center for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, 2-2 Wakamatsu-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8480, Japan
Christian Rückert: Institute for Genome Research and Systems Biology, Center for Biotechnology, Universität Bielefeld, Universitätstrasse 25, 33594 Bielefeld, Germany
Agustinus R. Uria: Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Maximilian J. Helf: Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Kentaro Takada: Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
Christine Gernert: Julius-von-Sachs Institute for Biological Sciences, University of Würzburg, Julius-von-Sachs-Platz 3, 97082 Würzburg, Germany
Ursula A. E. Steffens: Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Strasse 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany
Nina Heycke: Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Strasse 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany
Susanne Schmitt: Palaeontology and Geobiology, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Richard-Wagner-Strasse 10, 80333 Munich, Germany
Christian Rinke: 2800 Mitchell Drive
Eric J. N. Helfrich: Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Alexander O. Brachmann: Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Cristian Gurgui: Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Strasse 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany
Toshiyuki Wakimoto: Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Matthias Kracht: Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Strasse 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany
Max Crüsemann: Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Strasse 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany
Ute Hentschel: Julius-von-Sachs Institute for Biological Sciences, University of Würzburg, Julius-von-Sachs-Platz 3, 97082 Würzburg, Germany
Ikuro Abe: Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Shigeki Matsunaga: Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
Jörn Kalinowski: Institute for Genome Research and Systems Biology, Center for Biotechnology, Universität Bielefeld, Universitätstrasse 25, 33594 Bielefeld, Germany
Haruko Takeyama: Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University Center for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, 2-2 Wakamatsu-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8480, Japan
Jörn Piel: Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland

Nature, 2014, vol. 506, issue 7486, 58-62

Abstract: Abstract Cultivated bacteria such as actinomycetes are a highly useful source of biomedically important natural products. However, such ‘talented’ producers represent only a minute fraction of the entire, mostly uncultivated, prokaryotic diversity. The uncultured majority is generally perceived as a large, untapped resource of new drug candidates, but so far it is unknown whether taxa containing talented bacteria indeed exist. Here we report the single-cell- and metagenomics-based discovery of such producers. Two phylotypes of the candidate genus ‘Entotheonella’ with genomes of greater than 9 megabases and multiple, distinct biosynthetic gene clusters co-inhabit the chemically and microbially rich marine sponge Theonella swinhoei. Almost all bioactive polyketides and peptides known from this animal were attributed to a single phylotype. ‘Entotheonella’ spp. are widely distributed in sponges and belong to an environmental taxon proposed here as candidate phylum ‘Tectomicrobia’. The pronounced bioactivities and chemical uniqueness of ‘Entotheonella’ compounds provide significant opportunities for ecological studies and drug discovery.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1038/nature12959

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