Gliotoxin is regarded as one of the most important toxins produced by A. fumigatus. You can link to the secondary metabolites and toxins page here for more information on this compound.
Gliotoxin is synthesised from the amino acids phenylalanine and serine by a nonribosomal peptide synthase GliP. The resulting L-phenylalanyl-L-seryl compound then appears to undergo a series of oxidative enzymatic transformations before conversion to mature gliotoxin by a methylation step. Evidence for this reaction pathway is limited but comparison with sirodesmin biosynthesis in Leptosphaeria maculans has provided valuable insights. (Cramer RA et al. Disruption of a Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase in Aspergillus fumigatus Eliminates Gliotoxin Production. Eukaryot Cell. 2006; 5(6): 972-980, Gardiner and Howlett, Bioinformatic and expression analysis of the putative gliotoxin biosynthetic gene cluster of Aspergillus fumigatus FEMS Micro Lett 2006; 248:241-248)
Cluster 27 information: click image to view
|
|