Natural products in complex microbiomes – Assembling multiple bacterial genomes directly through shotgun metagenomics

• Published in: Planta Medica
• Main Authors: Miller, IJ, Weyna, T, Mlot, C, Fong, SS, McPhail, K, Lim-Fong, G, Kwan, JC
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: 14.07.2014
• ISSN: 0032-0943; 1439-0221
• DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1382362

Bacterial natural products result from millions of years of evolution, and confer survival advantages in complex, mixed communities in the environment. The diversity of bacterial communities is accessible through 16S rRNA gene sequencing, but the metabolism and roles of each species remains obscure. Because most bacteria cannot be cultured, we use shotgun metagenomic sequencing to offer a global view of bacterial communities. We have developed methods to assemble multiple whole or near-complete bacterial genomes from single samples of environmental DNA, which can be used to probe the ecology of uncultured bacteria and to discover new natural product pathways. We used these methods to investigate the symbiotic bacteria that produce bryostatins and mandelalides, cytotoxic compounds isolated from the marine bryozoan Bugula neritina and the tunicate Lissoclinum sp., respectively. These data provide insights into the symbiotic relationships between natural product producers and their hosts, and offer a view of the wider microbiome beyond the major symbiont. *These authors contributed equally to this work