Synthesis of a Truncated Microcystin Tetrapeptide Molecule from a Partial Mcy Gene Cluster in Microcystis Cultures and Blooms.

spp. threaten freshwater ecosystems through the proliferation of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) and production of the hepatotoxin, microcystin. While microcystin and its biosynthesis pathway, encoded by the genes, have been well studied for over 50 years, a recent study found that populations in western Lake Erie contain a transcriptionally active partial operon, in which the A2 domain of and are present but the genes are absent.

Metabologenomics reveals strain-level genetic and chemical diversity of secondary metabolism.

spp. are renowned for producing the hepatotoxin microcystin in freshwater cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms around the world, threatening drinking water supplies and public and environmental health. However, genomes also harbor numerous biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) encoding the biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites, including many with toxic properties.

Transcriptionally active nitrogen fixation and biosynthesis of diverse secondary metabolites by Dolichospermum and Aphanizomenon-like Cyanobacteria in western Lake Erie Microcystis blooms.

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) in the western basin of Lake Erie are dominated by microcystin producing Microcystis spp., but other cyanobacterial taxa that coexist in these communities may play important roles in production of toxins and shaping bloom dynamics and community function. In this study, we used metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data from the 2014 western Lake Erie cyanoHAB to explore the genetic diversity and biosynthetic potential of cyanobacteria belonging to the Anabaena, Dolichospermum, Aphanizomenon (ADA) clade.

Expression of Biosynthetic Gene Clusters in Natural Populations Suggests Temporally Dynamic Synthesis of Novel and Known Secondary Metabolites in Western Lake Erie.

spp. produce diverse secondary metabolites within freshwater cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) around the world. In addition to the biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) encoding known compounds, genomes harbor numerous BGCs of unknown function, indicating a poorly understood chemical repertoire.

Metagenomic and Metatranscriptomic Insights into Population Diversity of Blooms: Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Genotypes, Including a Partial Operon That Can Be Abundant and Expressed.

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) degrade freshwater ecosystems globally. Microcystis aeruginosa often dominates cyanoHABs and produces microcystin (MC), a class of hepatotoxins that poses threats to human and animal health. Microcystin toxicity is influenced by distinct structural elements across a diversity of related molecules encoded by variant operons.

The genetic and ecophysiological diversity of Microcystis.

Microcystis is a cyanobacterium that forms toxic blooms in freshwater ecosystems around the world. Biological variation among taxa within the genus is apparent through genetic and phenotypic differences between strains and via the spatial and temporal distribution of strains in the environment, and this fine-scale diversity exerts strong influence over bloom toxicity. Yet we do not know how varying traits of Microcystis strains govern their environmental distribution, the tradeoffs and links between these traits, or how they are encoded at the genomic level.