Title: A widespread natural product gene cluster family to briarane diterpenoids in coral animals

Specialized metabolites, integral for defining organisms’ niches, provide distinctive traits and facilitate communication. There are no biosynthetic gene clusters verified from animals. The only examples are recently discovered putative biosynthetic gene clusters in octocorals. These sessile marine invertebrates lack tough exterior skeletons. Instead, they depend on the biosynthesis of specialized metabolites as chemical defenses. Through high-quality genome assemblies and heterologous biosynthesis, we validate the first animal biosynthetic gene cluster. An octocoral gene cluster containing a terpene cyclase, cytochrome P450s, and a short-chain dehydrogenase is involved in the production of a complex terpene. The terpene product most likely represents an advanced common intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway to briarane terpenoids, a coral specific structural class comprising over 600 known compounds.

Name: Natalie Grayson

Natalie Grayson is a passionate PhD candidate in the lab of Brad Moore at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, California. She is excited about her current work pioneering the new frontier of genome mining for charismatic enzymes related to specialized metabolite biosynthesis in eukaryotes. With a background in evolutionary and ecology biology, she is also curious about how novel enzyme functions and gene organization trends arise in genomically complex animal systems.

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