Genome sequencing and analysis reveal the biosynthetic mechanism of anticancer drug terpenoid in Aspergillus tubingensis

Abstract In recent years, Aspergillus tubingensis is extremely rich in secondary metabolites, which is a valuable medical fungus needs to be further explored. So far, many small molecular compounds with novel structure and significant biological activity have been discovered from A. tubingensis, among which terpenoids account for about 20%, showing great research potential in anti-cancer. Although more and more new terpenoids have been discovered from A. tubingensis and their structures have been identified, few studies have investigated the biosynthetic pathway of terpenoid. In order to further elucidate the biosynthetic mechanism of terpenoid, the key genes and enzymes involved in terpenoid biosynthesis were successfully mined and further analyzed based on genome sequencing analysis. Subsequently, hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase, mevalonate kinase, phosphomevalonate kinase as well as diphosphomevalonate decarboxylase were annotated, which played important roles in terpenoid biosynthesis of A. tubingensis. Furthermore, the biosynthetic pathway of terpenoid in A. tubingensis has been constructed, which could be applied to develop the metabolic regulation of A. tubingensis. This study would provide more sufficient scientific basis and new ideas for the genetic regulation of anticancer drug terpenoid biosynthesis in A. tubingensis.