Integration of Chemical, Genetic, and Bioinformatic Approaches Delineates Fungal Polyketide–Peptide Hybrid Biosynthesis

To identify natural products and their associated biosynthetic genes from underutilized, difficult-to-manipulate microbes, chemical screening and bioinformatic analysis were employed to identify secondary metabolites and a potentially associated biosynthetic gene cluster. Subsequently, a heterologous expression system was used to confirm the identity of the gene cluster and the proposed biosynthetic mechanism. This approach successfully identified the curvupallide and spirostaphylotrichin biosynthetic pathways in endophytic fungus Curvularia pallescens and the short-chain pyranonigrin biosynthetic pathway in Aspergillus niger.