This review provides a comprehensive update of the advances in discovery, biosynthesis, and engineering of ribosomally-synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs).

Prochloronspp. are obligate cyanobacterial symbionts of many didemnid family ascidians. It has been proposed that the cyclic peptides of the patellamide class found in didemnid extracts are synthesized byProchloronspp., but studies in which host and symbiont cells are separated and chemically analyzed to identify the biosynthetic source have yielded inconclusive results. As part of theProchloron didemnisequencing project, we identified patellamide biosynthetic genes and confirmed their function by heterologous expression of the whole pathway inEscherichia coli. The primary sequence of patellamides A and C is encoded on a single ORF that resembles a precursor peptide. We propose that this prepatellamide is heterocyclized to form thiazole and oxazoline rings, and the peptide is cleaved to yield the two cyclic patellamides, A and C. This work represents the full sequencing and functional expression of a marine natural-product pathway from an obligate symbiont. In addition, a related cluster was identified inTrichodesmium erythraeumIMS101, an important bloom-forming cyanobacterium.

Covering: up to July 2008 Ribosomally synthesized bacterial natural products rival the nonribosomal peptides in their structural and functional diversity. The last decade has seen substantial progress in the identification and characterization of biosynthetic pathways leading to ribosomal peptide natural products with new and unusual structural motifs. In some of these cases, the motifs are similar to those found in nonribosomal peptides, and many are constructed by convergent or even paralogous enzymes. Here, we summarize the major structural and biosynthetic categories of ribosomally synthesized bacterial natural products and, where applicable, compare them to their homologs from nonribosomal biosynthesis.

Secondary metabolites are ubiquitous in bacteria, but by definition, they are thought to be nonessential. Highly toxic secondary metabolites such as patellazoles have been isolated from marine tunicates, where their exceptional potency and abundance implies a role in chemical defense, but their biological source is unknown. Here, we describe the association of the tunicate Lissoclinum patella with a symbiotic α-proteobacterium, Candidatus Endolissoclinum faulkneri, and present chemical and biological evidence that the bacterium synthesizes patellazoles. We sequenced and assembled the complete Ca . E. faulkneri genome, directly from metagenomic DNA obtained from the tunicate, where it accounted for 0.6% of sequence data. We show that the large patellazoles biosynthetic pathway is maintained, whereas the remainder of the genome is undergoing extensive streamlining to eliminate unneeded genes. The preservation of this pathway in streamlined bacteria demonstrates that secondary metabolism is an essential component of the symbiotic interaction.