Biosynthesis and Molecular Genetics of Polyketides in Marine Dinoflagellates

Marine Drugs

Ralf Kellmann²  Anke Stüken¹  Russell J. S. Orr³  Helene M. Svendsen² 

[1] University of Oslo, Department of Biology, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), 0316 Oslo, Norway; E-Mails:;University of Bergen, Department of Molecular Biology, 5020 Bergen, Norway; E-Mail:;University of Oslo, Department of Biology, Microbial Evolution Research Group (MERG), 0316 Oslo, Norway; E-Mail:

关键词: polyketides;    polyether toxins;    alkaloids;    molecular genetics;    genomics;    biosynthesis;   

DOI  :  10.3390/md8041011

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Marine dinoflagellates are the single most important group of algae that produce toxins, which have a global impact on human activities. The toxins are chemically diverse, and include macrolides, cyclic polyethers, spirolides and purine alkaloids. Whereas there is a multitude of studies describing the pharmacology of these toxins, there is limited or no knowledge regarding the biochemistry and molecular genetics involved in their biosynthesis. Recently, however, exciting advances have been made. Expressed sequence tag sequencing studies have revealed important insights into the transcriptomes of dinoflagellates, whereas other studies have implicated polyketide synthase genes in the biosynthesis of cyclic polyether toxins, and the molecular genetic basis for the biosynthesis of paralytic shellfish toxins has been elucidated in cyanobacteria. This review summarises the recent progress that has been made regarding the unusual genomes of dinoflagellates, the biosynthesis and molecular genetics of dinoflagellate toxins. In addition, the evolution of these metabolic pathways will be discussed, and an outlook for future research and possible applications is provided.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2010 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland