Novel Gene Clusters for Secondary Metabolite Synthesis in Mesophotic Sponge‐Associated Bacteria

作者：Nuo Chen, Liwei Liu, Jingxuan Wang, Deqiang Mao, Hongmei Lu, T. K. Shishido, Shuai Zhi, Hua Chen, Shan He · 发表于：Microbial Biotechnology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1111/1751-7915.70107 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Medicine

Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) host a diverse array of sponge species, which represent a promising source of bioactive compounds. Increasing evidence suggests that sponge‐associated bacteria may be the primary producers of these compounds. However, cultivating these bacteria under laboratory conditions remains a significant challenge. To investigate the rich resource of bioactive compounds synthesised by mesophotic sponge‐associated bacteria, we retrieved 429 metagenome‐assembled genomes (MAGs) from 15 mesophotic sponges, revealing a strong correlation between bacterial diversity and sponge species. Furthermore, we identified 1637 secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) within these MAGs. Among the identified BGCs, terpenes were the most abundant (495), followed by 369 polyketide synthases (PKSs), 293 ribosomally synthesised and post‐translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) and 135 nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs). The BGCs were classified into 1086 gene cluster families (GCFs) based on sequence similarity. Notably, only five GCFs included experimentally validated reference BGCs from the Minimum Information about a Biosynthetic Gene cluster database (MIBiG). Additionally, an unusual abundance of BGCs was detected in Entotheonella sp. (s191209.Bin93) from the Tectomicrobia phylum. In contrast, members of Proteobacteria and Acidobacteriota harboured fewer BGCs (6–7 on average), yet their high abundance in MCE sponges suggests a potentially rich reser...