Fungi produce a number of natural products. Some are potent toxins, like the amanitins primarily responsible for the toxicity of the death cap fungus. Others are life-saving drugs such as penicillin. Because of that diversity, the genetics of fungi have generated much interest in recent years.
Many fungi have a wealth of genes encoding for far more natural products than they actually produce, says Robert Cichewicz and colleagues at the University of Oklahoma, Norman. The explanation is thought to be that when fungi do not need certain compounds, they inhibit the transcription of the DNA that codes for the proteins that make them, preventing their biosynthesis.
Knowing what these mystery compounds are could be very important for the development of new medicines, as well as for helping us to understand the ecological roles that fungi play, he says.
In a new study published in Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry they have shown that metabolic pathways that are normally ‘silent’ can be re-activated to make new compounds.