How Fungi Biosynthesize 3-Nitropropanoic Acid: The Simplest yet Lethal Mycotoxin.

Published in: Organic letters (2024)

We uncovered the biosynthetic pathway of the lethal mycotoxin 3-nitropropanoic acid (3-NPA) from koji mold Aspergillus oryzae. The biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) of 3-NPA, which encodes an amine oxidase and a decarboxylase, is conserved in many fungi used in food processing, although most of the strains have not been reported to produce 3-NPA. Our discovery will lead to efforts that improve the safety profiles of these indispensable microorganisms in making food, alcoholic beverages, and seasoning.

Keyphrases

small molecule
escherichia coli
human health
transcription factor
copy number
high throughput
genome wide
quality improvement
liver injury
risk assessment
genome wide identification