article · Nucleic Acids Research
Microorganisms produce small bioactive compounds, known as natural products, which are crucial for microbial interactions, soil health, and the development of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. Advances in genome sequencing allow for the identification of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) responsible for these compounds. antiSMASH, a leading computational tool, detects and characterises BGCs in bacteria and fungi. Version 8 of antiSMASH significantly expands its capabilities, increasing detectable cluster types from 81 to 101. It also features improved analysis support for terpenoids, tailoring enzymes, and modular enzymes like polyketide synthases and nonribosomal peptide synthetases, enhancing its predictive power for natural product genome mining.
Natural products from microorganisms are vital for developing new medicines and agricultural chemicals. This updated computational tool significantly improves the ability to discover the genetic blueprints for these valuable compounds. Enhanced detection capabilities mean a greater potential for identifying novel natural products, which could lead to breakthroughs in various industries.
This research provides an advanced computational tool for natural product genome mining. It could be used by pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and agrochemical companies to discover novel bioactive compounds. The tool is an early-stage research enabler, facilitating the identification of potential drug candidates or agrochemicals from microbial genomes, thereby accelerating the initial discovery phase of product development.
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Microorganisms synthesize small bioactive compounds through their secondary or specialized metabolism. Those compounds play an important role in microbial interactions and soil health, but are also crucial for the development of pharmaceuticals or agrochemicals. Over the past decades, advancements in genome sequencing have enabled the identification of large numbers of biosynthetic gene clusters directly from microbial genomes. Since its inception in 2011, antiSMASH (https://antismash.secondarymetabolites.org/), has become the leading tool for detecting and characterizing these gene clusters in bacteria and fungi. This paper introduces version 8 of antiSMASH, which has increased the number of detectable cluster types from 81 to 101, and has improved analysis support for terpenoids and tailoring enzymes, as well as improvements in the analysis of modular enzymes like polyketide synthases and nonribosomal peptide synthetases. These modifications keep antiSMASH up-to-date with developments in the field and extend its overall predictive capabilities for natural product genome mining.
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DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaf334
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