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Vind, K.

Publications and source records attributed to Vind, K..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

N-acetyl-cysteinylated streptophenazines fromStreptomyces

Here, we describe two N-acetyl-cysteinylated streptophenazines (1 and 2) produced by soil-derived Streptomyces sp. ID63040 and identified through a metabolomic approach. These metabolites attracted our interest due to their low occurrence frequency in a large library of fermentation broth extracts and their consistent presence in biological replicates of the producer strain. The compounds were found to possess broad-spectrum antibacterial activity while exhibiting low cytotoxicity. The biosynthetic gene cluster from Streptomyces sp. ID63040 was found to be highly similar to the streptophenazine reference cluster in the MIBiG database, which originates from the marine Streptomyces sp. CNB-091. Compounds 1 and 2 were the main streptophenazine products from Streptomyces sp. ID63040 at all cultivation times, but were not detected in Streptomyces sp. CNB-091. The lack of obvious candidates for cysteinylation in the Streptomyces sp. ID63040 biosynthetic gene cluster suggests that the N-acetyl-cysteine moiety derives from cellular functions, most likely from mycothiol. Overall, our data represent an interesting example on how to leverage metabolomics for the discovery of new natural products and point out to the often-neglected contribution of house-keeping cellular functions to natural product diversification. Graphical abstract O_FIG_DISPLAY_L [Figure 1] M_FIG_DISPLAY C_FIG_DISPLAY

microbiology↗

Muropeptides Stimulate Growth Resumption from Stationary Phase in Escherichia coli

When nutrients run out, bacteria enter a dormant metabolic state. This low or undetectable metabolic activity helps bacteria to preserve their scant reserves for future, but also diminishes their ability to trace the environment for new growth-promoting substrates. However, neighboring microbial growth is a sure indicator of favorable environment and thus, can serve as a cue for exiting the dormancy. Here we report that for Escherichia coli this cue is the basic peptidoglycan unit (i.e. muropeptide). We show that several forms of muropeptides can stimulate growth resumption of dormant E. coli cells, but the sugar - peptide bond is crucial for activity. We also demonstrate that muropeptides from several different species can induce growth resumption of E. coli and also Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These results, together with the previous identification of muropeptides as germination signal for bacterial spores, makes muropeptides rather universal cue for bacterial growth.

microbiology↗