Huzefa Raja

Thank you, Isabel!

Scaling up the production of fungal perylenequinones and investigating their biosynthesis through stable isotope labeling - Microbial Cell Factories Background Perylenequinones, such as hypocrellins and hypomycins, are fungal secondary metabolites with potential for pharmaceutical and industrial applications due to both their physical and biological properties. This study focused on their sustainable production. Additionally, stable isotope labeling was used to probe the biosynthesis of these compounds, demonstrating how sugars are likely incorporated into the perylenequinone scaffold. Methods Shiraia sp. (strain MSX60519; Shiraiaceae, Pleosporales) was cultivated under varying nutrient conditions to evaluate the production of perylenequinones, with sugars serving as primary carbon sources. Five metabolites were isolated (from oatmeal cultures) using environmentally friendly solvent-based techniques, and the process was further optimized to maximize yields. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC–HRMS) were employed to detect, characterize, and quantify the major compounds. Furthermore, feeding experiments were performed using 13C-labeled glucose, with droplet probe mass spectrometry used to monitor stable isotope incorporation in situ. Results This study yielded three key findings. First, the production of perylenequinones was significantly enhanced by supplementing fermentation media with sugars, and disaccharides significantly enhanced the production of perylenequinones compared to monosaccharides. Optimizing sugar concentrations during the fermentation further influenced the profile of secondary metabolites. Second, stable isotope labeling experiments confirmed that sugars are the primary building blocks of perylenequinones, as noted by tracing 13C-labeling into ent-shiraiachrome A (1). Finally, a green, scalable, and sustainable strategy for producing these compounds on the gram scale was developed by optimizing fermentation conditions, refining purification methods, and improving extraction efficiency. Conclusion These findings provide critical insights into optimizing fermentation conditions for the scaled and sustainable production of perylenequinones. This approach offers a cost-effective and environmentally friendly pipeline for harnessing these valuable compounds, paving the way for broader pharmaceutical and industrial applications. Graphical abstract

New publication alert!
microbialcellfactories.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

Scaling up natural products is a pivotal goal in our lab. With scaled-up pure compounds, one can begin to test the various applications of fungal natural products
@uncgresearch.bsky.social

“We are the most intellectual species to walk the planet, but we’re not intelligent. If you’re intelligent you don’t destroy your only home.”

- Dr. Jane Goodall

Thank you Indianapolis Zoo for the funding! Fungal Taxonomy needs friends like you!!

Indianapolis Zoo Grant Fungi Discovery Two Indianapolis Zoo grant recipients and a team of Conservation Coordinators with the Global Center for Species Survival have discovered an entirely new kind of freshwater fungus in Indiana.

www.indianapoliszoo.com/gcss/blog/zo...

illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

Job Alert: Mycology position at Illinois!!

This only happens to you once

The Fascinating Map of Fungi Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

Great to collaborate with @DomainOfScience on this new video, with our scientists inputting on the fascinating map of fungi 🍄🌍 From medicines to forests, fungi are a kingdom of life shaping our world.

Discover just how important they are in 20 minutes 👇

ow.ly/u4fc50X2JRo

Guide to Aquatic Hyphomycetes - SP30. — Freshwater Biological Association An illustrated guide to Auatic and Water-Bourne Hyphomycetes (Fungi Inperfecti) with notes on their biology Author: C T Ingold Publisdhed by FBA, 1975 Format Soft Cover, 96 pages ISBN: 900386223

The Freshwater Biology Association still has stocks of Ingold’s book ‘Guide to #AquaticHyphomycetes’. This illustrates not only the spores that he found, but how they developed from hyphae on the surface of leaves www.fba.org.uk/shop/p/book-10

mGem: How many fungal secondary metabolites are produced by filamentous fungi? Conservatively, at least 1.4 million | mBio Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, fungi have been at the forefront of natural product discovery (1, 2). To date, over 30,000 fungal secondary metabolites (SMs), small biologically active comp...

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/....

Natural product Chemists and Mycologists have lots of work to do!

Nice Perspective from the @rokaslab.bsky.social

mSphere of Influence: Population-level thinking to unravel microbial pathogenicity | mSphere Fungal pathogens pose a serious and growing threat to human health. A striking feature of these organisms is their high interspecies phenotypic heterogeneity, which is underpinned by exceptionally dynamic and plastic genomes. For the WHO priority pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus, this includes notable variation between strains in gene content, stress resistance, induction of host responses, and virulence in animal models. Notably, most human fungal pathogens, including A. fumigatus, have evolved from non-pathogenic ancestors and therefore remain closely related to non-pathogenic relatives. The study “Strain heterogeneity in a non-pathogenic Aspergillus fungus highlights factors associated with virulence” (1) by Antonis Rokas’ group addresses the key research questions of whether these closely related non-pathogen relatives also possess a substantial degree of interspecific heterogeneity, and to what extent does their phenotypic variation overlaps with that of the pathogenic species, particularly under infection-relevant conditions? Strikingly, the authors find that Aspergillus fischeri, a close non-pathogenic relative of A. fumigatus, displays even greater intraspecific diversity and that this variation frequently overlaps with the pathogenicity-associated phenotypes of A. fumigatus. This study challenges the prevailing practice of categorizing the entire species as “pathogens” or “non-pathogens,” which is often based on research conducted using a single reference strain. Instead, it introduces a population-based framework, where the intraspecific diversity of pathogens and closely related species is defined across a diverse set of strains. This approach allows us to learn not only how these organisms cause disease but also how their virulence evolves.

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

This is some work the Oberlies lab @uncg.edu did in collaboration with @rokaslab.bsky.social lab

Population structure in a fungal human pathogen is potentially linked to pathogenicity Nature Communications - Genetic diversity between clinical and environmental fungal isolates of Aspergillus flavus is poorly studied. Here, the authors analysed genomic data from a global set of...

Thrilled to share that the final chapter of my PhD with @rokaslab.bsky.social is now out in @natcomms.nature.com 🎉
Read it to find out how population structure impacts pathogenicity in Aspergillus flavus, a fungus that infects humans 🧪
rdcu.be/eAToj

Coprophilous fungi in the search for new antimicrobials and other beneficial natural products Covering: up to 2025Microbial interactions involve complex processes shaped by their ecological contexts. Herbivore animal dung denotes an interesting ecological niche for the study of interorganism c...

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
Our new review on the secondary metabolites of coprophilous fungi has just been published by Natural Product Reports. Thanks for funding from the @humboldt-foundation.de foundation.de, the @dfg.de & the @daadworldwide.bsky.social Congrats to all coauthors!

Leaves of Nymphoides peltata with symptoms of infection including browning, spots, and signs of decay. Submitted by Jennie Barthel Sveden, Länsstyrelsen Stockholm, to the Koll på Sjögull Survey.

🌟Plant pathogens attacking harmful invasive aquatic plants

Nymphoides peltata occupies ~17 football ⚽ fields of area in Lake Mälaren & is in other spots too. We show that Septoria villarsiae & friends are associated with this host in 🇸🇪.
@zimingwang.bsky.social
zenodo.org/records/1653...

The peer-review crisis: how to fix an overloaded system Journals and funders are trying to boost the speed and effectiveness of review processes that are under strain.

As a writer, teacher, AE, and reviewer, i share lots of their views. We need to work together to improve the system.
The peer-review crisis: how to fix an overloaded system www.nature.com/articles/d41...

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Our body is a mosaic of fungi. Some scientists think they could be influencing our brain The fungi within our bodies may have a much greater effect on our health than we've long given them credit for.

Interesting read!

www.bbc.com/future/artic...

www.ingentaconnect.com/content/wfbi...
New Freshwater Ascomycete Genus from Indiana! Atromganispora indianensis

40 years later, Bhopal is still in crisis The world's worst industrial catastrophe continues to affect families with health conditions and paltry compensation

40 years later, Bhopal is still in crisis

The world's worst industrial catastrophe continues to affect families with health conditions and paltry compensation. cen.acs.org/environment/... #chemsky 🧪

Extinct moth rediscovered after 73 years by accident A Butterfly Conservation ecologist has spoken of her amazement after she accidentally rediscovered a moth that was thought to be extinct in England for 73 years.Rebecca Levey stumbled on an entire col...

Extinct moth rediscovered by @savebutterflies.bsky.social ecologist after 73 years by accident...

butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blo...

The Extraordinary Benefit of Nature’s Chemistry to Health, Society, and the Economy The connection between humans and Nature’s chemistry is astonishing and built into the very fabric of our genetic code. In this Perspective, we focus on bioactive molecules from microbes, plants, and ...

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

YouTube video by Bizarre Beasts This Furry Potato Is An Evolutionary Mystery

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASOy...

Hyrax: An evolutionary mystery!

‘Tyger! Tyger! burning bright’ – but fungi are out of sight Governments, nature conservation and civil society organizations worldwide are doing commendable service in protecting species and their habitats. How…

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

All NC super markets should do this!! Wonderful idea!

Described by Linder in 1944. This genus and species receives its name from the fancied resemblance of the conidia to the orb, which is a part of English royal regalia.

Orbimyces spectabilis, a rare marine ascomycete!

CNN: Fungus = singular
Fungi = plural

A fungi that can ‘eat you from the inside out’ could spread as the world heats up | CNN Infection-causing fungi responsible for millions of deaths a year will spread significantly to new regions as the planet heats up, new research predicts —and the world is not prepared.

www.cnn.com/2025/05/24/c...

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An integrative genomic and chemical similarity approach linking fungal secondary metabolites and biosynthetic gene clusters Fungi are well known to biosynthesize structurally complex secondary metabolites (SMs) with diverse bioactivities. These fungal SMs are frequently produced by biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). Linkin...

An integrative genomic and chemical similarity approach linking fungal secondary metabolites and biosynthetic gene clusters

bioRxiv from @rokaslab.bsky.social

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...