Monday, August 2, 2010
Pacific Concourse (Hyatt Regency San Francisco)
Shipworms are wood-boring bivalves that belong to the family Teredinidae. Within the gills of these marine mollusk species, exist a
group of endosymbiotic bacteria that is thought to play an important role in the nutrition and survival of their host. One of these
endosymbionts, Teredinibacter turnerae, was isolated almost three decades ago and found to be capable of nitrogen fixation and
cellulose digestion. This allows the shipworm to use wood as its sole food source. The secondary metabolome of this gammaproteobacterium
has never been investigated. Nevertheless, genomic data suggest the presence of interesting metabolites. The
genome of Teredinibacter turnerae was sequenced recently. Nine gene clusters that are thought to encode the biosynthesis of
polyketides and nonribosomal peptides were found, accounting for 7% of the genome. Bioactivity assays in addition to gene
expression analysis strongly suggest the presence of compounds that possess antibacterial, antifungal, and cytotoxic activities, in
addition to a siderophore. We have isolated one of these, a novel antibacterial metabolite, by bioassay guided fractionation and
identified its structure as a novel compound using 1D and 2D NMR experiments.
group of endosymbiotic bacteria that is thought to play an important role in the nutrition and survival of their host. One of these
endosymbionts, Teredinibacter turnerae, was isolated almost three decades ago and found to be capable of nitrogen fixation and
cellulose digestion. This allows the shipworm to use wood as its sole food source. The secondary metabolome of this gammaproteobacterium
has never been investigated. Nevertheless, genomic data suggest the presence of interesting metabolites. The
genome of Teredinibacter turnerae was sequenced recently. Nine gene clusters that are thought to encode the biosynthesis of
polyketides and nonribosomal peptides were found, accounting for 7% of the genome. Bioactivity assays in addition to gene
expression analysis strongly suggest the presence of compounds that possess antibacterial, antifungal, and cytotoxic activities, in
addition to a siderophore. We have isolated one of these, a novel antibacterial metabolite, by bioassay guided fractionation and
identified its structure as a novel compound using 1D and 2D NMR experiments.