Evolution and Diversity of Mycotoxin Gene Clusters
A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651). This special issue belongs to the section "Mycotoxins".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2022) | Viewed by 4669
Special Issue Editor
Interests: fungi of the genus Fusarium
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Fungal genomes contain a number of highly organized gene clusters that are involved in the production of secondary metabolites. A large proportion of these metabolites can be toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic to animals and humans. These harmful metabolites are designated as mycotoxins. The gene clusters involved in mycotoxin production usually contain a backbone gene that encodes the key enzyme that catalyzes mycotoxin synthesis. Among the most frequently found are polyketide synthase (PKS), nonribosomal peptides synthetase (NRPS), terpenes cyclase, or dimethylallyl tryptophan synthetase. Other genes such as those that encode acetyltransferases, methyltransferases, and oxidoreductases modify backbone compounds. Mycotoxin gene clusters can also contain precursor biosynthesis enzymes, transcription factors, and resistance genes responsible for detoxifying enzymes. The increase in complete fungal genome sequencing has given rise to the discovery and investigation of mycotoxin gene clusters from a broad range of fungal taxa. These clusters are recognized as highly dynamic components of fungal genomes, which mostly emerged from rearrangements and/or duplications of native genes. Fungi can also adapt these clusters through lateral gene transfer to evolve increased adaptation to a host environment. Previous phylogenetic studies have proven their divergent distribution in the fungal kingdom, with frequent rearrangements and remarkable nucleotide variation often observed at the strain level. Despite the recent explosion of information in the field of genomics, mycotoxin gene clusters are still poorly sampled, and the evolutionary processes that have shaped their diversity are largely unknown.
This Special Issue will form a collection of articles, including research and review articles, that will contribute to the better knowledge of the evolution and diversity of mycotoxin gene clusters. To reach this highly worthy aim, high-quality original research and review papers are welcome. These papers should cover comparative and evolutionary studies of mycotoxin gene clusters and/or novel bioinformatic methods in their analysis to study the patterns of diversification and neofunctionalization of mycotoxin gene clusters.
Dr. Tomasz Kulik
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- Mycotoxin gene cluster
- Horizontal gene transfer
- Secondary metabolism
- Evolution
- Phylogeny
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