Fungi have the capability to produce a tremendous number of so-called secondary metabolites, which possess a multitude of functions, e.g., communication signals during coexistence with other microorganisms, virulence factors during pathogenic interactions with plants and animals, and in medical applications. Therefore, research on this topic has intensified significantly during the past 10 years and thus knowledge of regulatory mechanisms and the understanding of the role of secondary metabolites have drastically increased. This review aims to depict the complexity of all the regulatory elements involved in controlling the expression of secondary metabolite gene clusters, ranging from epigenetic control and signal transduction pathways to global and specific transcriptional regulators. Furthermore, we give a short overview on the role of secondary metabolites, focusing on the interaction with other microorganisms in the environment as well as on pathogenic relationships.

Microorganisms form diverse multispecies communities in various ecosystems. The high abundance of fungal and bacterial species in these consortia results in specific communication between the microorganisms. A key role in this communication is played by secondary metabolites (SMs), which are also called natural products. Recently, it was shown that interspecies “talk” between microorganisms represents a physiological trigger to activate silent gene clusters leading to the formation of novel SMs by the involved species. This review focuses on mixed microbial cultivation, mainly between bacteria and fungi, with a special emphasis on the induced formation of fungal SMs in co-cultures. In addition, the role of chromatin remodeling in the induction is examined, and methodical perspectives for the analysis of natural products are presented. As an example for an intermicrobial interaction elucidated at the molecular level, we discuss the specific interaction between the filamentous fungi Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus fumigatus with the soil bacterium Streptomyces rapamycinicus, which provides an excellent model system to enlighten molecular concepts behind regulatory mechanisms and will pave the way to a novel avenue of drug discovery through targeted activation of silent SM gene clusters through co-cultivations of microorganisms.

Interaction between microbes affects the growth, metabolism and differentiation of members of the microbial community. While direct and indirect competition, like antagonism and nutrient consumption have a negative effect on the interacting members of the population, microbes have also evolved in nature not only to fight, but in some cases to adapt to or support each other, while increasing the fitness of the community. The presence of bacteria and fungi in soil results in various interactions including mutualism. Bacilli attach to the plant root and form complex communities in the rhizosphere. Bacillus subtilis, when grown in the presence of Aspergillus niger, interacts similarly with the fungus, by attaching and growing on the hyphae. Based on data obtained in a dual transcriptome experiment, we suggest that both fungi and bacteria alter their metabolism during this interaction. Interestingly, the transcription of genes related to the antifungal and putative antibacterial defence mechanism of B. subtilis and A. niger, respectively, are decreased upon attachment of bacteria to the mycelia. Analysis of the culture supernatant suggests that surfactin production by B. subtilis was reduced when the bacterium was co-cultivated with the fungus. Our experiments provide new insights into the interaction between a bacterium and a fungus.

Filamentous fungi represent classical examples for environmentally acquired human pathogens whose major virulence mechanisms are likely to have emerged long before the appearance of innate immune systems. In natural habitats, amoeba predation could impose a major selection pressure towards the acquisition of virulence attributes. To test this hypothesis, we exploited the amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum to study its interaction with Aspergillus fumigatus, two abundant soil inhabitants for which we found co-occurrence in various sites. Fungal conidia were efficiently taken up by D. discoideum, but ingestion was higher when conidia were devoid of the green fungal spore pigment dihydroxynaphtalene melanin, in line with earlier results obtained for immune cells. Conidia were able to survive phagocytic processing, and intracellular germination was initiated only after several hours of co-incubation which eventually led to a lethal disruption of the host cell. Besides phagocytic interactions, both amoeba and fungus secreted cross inhibitory factors which suppressed fungal growth or induced amoeba aggregation with subsequent cell lysis, respectively. On the fungal side, we identified gliotoxin as the major fungal factor killing Dictyostelium, supporting the idea that major virulence attributes, such as escape from phagocytosis and the secretion of mycotoxins are beneficial to escape from environmental predators.