Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Natural products

Sponge symbionts play defense

  • News & Views
  • Published:

From Nature Chemical Biology

View current issue Submit your manuscript

The gene cluster that produces the sponge-derived cytotoxin calyculin A has been located in an uncultivated bacterial symbiont. Biochemical analyses reveal a pyrophosphorylated protoxin as the true biosynthetic product and suggest that calyculins result from activated chemical defense.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1: Investigating the biosynthesis and activation of the sponge-derived metabolite calyculin A.

References

  1. Gerwick, W.H. & Moore, B.S. Chem. Biol. 19, 85–98 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Ishihara, H. et al. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 159, 871–877 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Hentschel, U., Peil, J., Degnan, S.M. & Taylor, M.W. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 10, 641–654 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Schirmer, A. et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71, 4840–4849 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Wakimoto, T. et al. Nat. Chem. Biol. 10, 648–655 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Bewley, C.A., Holland, N.D. & Faulkner, D.J. Experientia 52, 716–722 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hildebrand, M. et al. Nat. Prod. Rep. 21, 122–142 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Wilson, M.C. & Piel, J. Chem. Biol. 20, 636–647 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Wilson, M.C. et al. Nature 506, 58–62 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Thoms, C. & Schupp, P.J. J. Chem. Ecol. 34, 1242–1252 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Emily P. Balskus is at the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,

    Emily P Balskus

Authors
  1. Emily P Balskus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emily P Balskus.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Balskus, E. Sponge symbionts play defense. Nat Chem Biol 10, 611–612 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.1588

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.1588

  • Springer Nature America, Inc.

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation