Covering: through June 2021 Terpenoids are the largest class of natural products recognised to date. While mostly known to humans as bioactive plant metabolites and part of essential oils,... Show moreCovering: through June 2021 Terpenoids are the largest class of natural products recognised to date. While mostly known to humans as bioactive plant metabolites and part of essential oils, structurally diverse terpenoids are increasingly reported to be produced by microorganisms. For many of the compounds biological functions are yet unknown, but during the past years significant insights have been obtained for the role of terpenoids in microbial chemical ecology. Their functions include stress alleviation, maintenance of cell membrane integrity, photoprotection, attraction or repulsion of organisms, host growth promotion and defense. In this review we discuss the current knowledge of the biosynthesis and evolution of microbial terpenoids, and their ecological and biological roles in aquatic and terrestrial environments. Perspectives on their biotechnological applications, knowledge gaps and questions for future studies are discussed. Show less
Ossowicki, A.; Raaijmakers, J.M.; Garbeva, P. 2021
Soil biota contribute to diverse soil ecosystem services such as greenhouse gas mitigation, carbon sequestration, pollutant degradation, plant disease suppression and nutrient acquisition for plant... Show moreSoil biota contribute to diverse soil ecosystem services such as greenhouse gas mitigation, carbon sequestration, pollutant degradation, plant disease suppression and nutrient acquisition for plant growth. Here, we provide detailed insight into different perturbation approaches to disentangle soil microbiome functions and to reveal the underlying mechanisms. By applying perturbation, one can generate compositional and functional shifts of complex microbial communities in a controlled way. Perturbations can reduce microbial diversity, diminish the abundance of specific microbial taxa and thereby disturb the interactions within the microbial consortia and with their eukaryotic hosts. Four different microbiome perturbation approaches, namely selective heat, specific biocides, dilution-to-extinction and genome editing are the focus of this mini-review. We also discuss the potential of perturbation approaches to reveal the tipping point at which specific soil functions are lost and to link this change to key microbial taxa involved in specific microbiome-associated phenotypes. Show less
Terpene synthases are widely distributed among microorganisms and have been mainly studied in members of the genus Streptomyces. However, little is known about the distribution and evolution of... Show moreTerpene synthases are widely distributed among microorganisms and have been mainly studied in members of the genus Streptomyces. However, little is known about the distribution and evolution of the genes for terpene synthases. Here, we performed whole-genome based phylogenetic analysis of Streptomyces species, and compared the distribution of terpene synthase genes among them. Overall, our study revealed that ten major types of terpene synthases are present within the genus Streptomyces, namely those for geosmin, 2-methylisoborneol, epi-isozizaene, 7-epi-α-eudesmol, epi-cubenol, caryolan-1-ol, cyclooctat-9-en-7-ol, isoafricanol, pentalenene and α-amorphene. The Streptomyces species divide in three phylogenetic groups based on their whole genomes for which the distribution of the ten terpene synthases was analysed. Geosmin synthases were the most widely distributed and were found to be evolutionary positively selected. Other terpene synthases were found to be specific for one of the three clades or a subclade within the genus Streptomyces. A phylogenetic analysis of the most widely distributed classes of Streptomyces terpene synthases in comparison to the phylogenomic analysis of this genus is discussed. Show less
Avalos Garcia, M.; Wezel, G.P. van; Raaijmakers, J.M.; Garbeva, P. 2018
Microorganisms represent a large and still resourceful pool for the discovery of novel compounds to combat antibiotic resistance in human and animal pathogens. The ability of microorganisms to... Show moreMicroorganisms represent a large and still resourceful pool for the discovery of novel compounds to combat antibiotic resistance in human and animal pathogens. The ability of microorganisms to produce structurally diverse volatile compounds has been known for decades, yet their biological functions and antimicrobial activities have only recently attracted attention. Various studies revealed that microbial volatiles can act as infochemicals in long-distance cross-kingdom communication as well as antimicrobials in competition and predation. Here, we review recent insights into the natural functions and modes of action of microbial volatiles and discuss their potential as a new class of antimicrobials and modulators of antibiotic resistance. Show less
Weisskopf, L.; Ryu, C.M.; Raaijmakers, J.M.; Garbeva, P. 2016
