2016 SIMB Annual Meeting and Exhibition

Fungi produce many ecologically and medically important natural products (NPs). Compared to the Ascomycetes (i.e., filamentous fungi), NPs from the “other” group of higher fungi, the Basidiomycetes, have been relatively less studied. Homology-based analysis of fungal genomes for known NP biosynthetic genes together with information on isolated NPs suggests that the secondary metabolomes of Basidiomycetes differ significantly from those of other prolific microbial NP producers such as filamentous fungi and actinomycetes. Mushroom-forming Basidiomyctes (agarics), for example, appear to have evolved a particularly rich repertoire of terpenoid and ribosomal peptide (RiPP) derived NPs that are often associated with specialized tissues and cell types lacking in filamentous fungi, such as lactiferous tissues and cystidia (storage cells). Furthermore, these fungi have unique lifestyles and ecological niches that have shaped their NP portfolios. This session will highlight recent significant advances in our understanding of the chemistry, biosynthesis, and ecology of NPs from higher fungi, with an emphasis on agarics.