Scientists find a new fungus-made compound that fights fungi and weeds
Sometimes, the genes that enable fungi to produce natural chemicals also include a built-in “self-protection” mechanism against those same chemicals. Scientists can use these protective genes as clues to identify new compounds and infer their functions.
In a recent research, Professor Liao Pan from the Department of Biology led his research team, in collaboration with Professor Yudai Matsuda at City University of Hong Kong, developed a computational tool to scan fungal DNA for such clues. By analysing around 2,500 fungal genomes, the researchers identified a gene cluster associated with acetolactate synthase—a key enzyme required by plants and fungi to synthesise essential protein-building blocks. The investigation revealed that this cluster produces a novel compound, Pterrespiramide A, which has an unusual chemical structure. Further experiments confirmed that this compound inhibits acetolactate synthase and exhibits both antifungal and herbicidal activity. The findings demonstrate that using resistance genes as guideposts can accelerate the discovery of new, useful natural products. The research paves the way for identifying bioactive molecules with potential applications in drug and herbicide development.
Resistance gene-guided discovery of a fungal spirotetramate as an acetolactate synthase inhibitor
Pterrespiramide A shows herbicidal activity. (Left) Arabidopsis primary roots treated with Pterrespiramide A at varying concentrations for 5 days.
Scale bar = 1 cm. (Right) Root length measurements following treatment with Pterrespiramide A.
Statistical significance was assessed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey's post-hoc test. Data represent mean ± SD (n = 45)
The research findings have been published in Journal of the American Chemical Society under the title “Resistance Gene-Guided Discovery of a Fungal Spirotetramate as an Acetolactate Synthase Inhibitor”.
Professor Liao's research profile: Pan LIAO - Hong Kong Baptist University
This article was originally published by the Faculty of Science.
