Detection of Inverse Stable Isotopic Labeling in Untargeted Metabolomic Data.

Stable isotopic labeling is a powerful tool for determining the biosynthetic origin of metabolites and for discovering natural products that incorporate precursors of interest. When isotopically substituted precursors are not available commercially or synthetically, inverse stable isotopic labeling (InverSIL) is a useful alternative. With InverSIL, an organism is grown on an isotopically substituted medium and then fed precursors of natural isotopic abundance which can be tracked by mass spectrometry, thereby bypassing issues with precursor availability.

A Conserved Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Is Regulated by Quorum Sensing in a Shipworm Symbiont.

Bacterial symbionts often provide critical functions for their hosts. For example, wood-boring bivalves called shipworms rely on cellulolytic endosymbionts for wood digestion. However, how the relationship between shipworms and their bacterial symbionts is formed and maintained remains unknown.