Abstract
ABSTRACTWhile the ecological role thatTrichodesmiumsp. play in nitrogen fixation has been widely studied, little information is available on potential specialized metabolites that are associated with blooms and standing stockTrichodesmiumcolonies. While a collection of biological material from aT. thiebautiibloom event from North Padre Island, TX in 2014 indicated that this species was a prolific producer of chlorinated specialized metabolites, additional spatial and temporal resolution was needed. We have completed these metabolite comparison studies, detailed in the current report, utilizing LC-MS/MS-based molecular networking to visualize and annotate the specialized metabolite composition of theseTrichodesmiumblooms and colonies in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and other waters. Our results showed thatT. thiebautiiblooms and colonies found in the GoM have a remarkably consistent specialized metabolome. Additionally, we isolated and characterized one new macrocyclic compound fromT. thiebautii, trichothilone A (1), which was also detected in three independent cultures ofT. erythraeum. Genome mining identified genes predicted to synthesize certain functional groups in theT. thiebautiimetabolites. These results provoke intriguing questions of how these specialized metabolites affectTrichodesmiumecophysiology, symbioses with marine invertebrates, and niche development in the global oligotrophic ocean.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory