Genome Mining as an Alternative Way for Screening the Marine Organisms for Their Potential to Produce UV-Absorbing Mycosporine-like Amino Acid

Abstract

Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) are small molecules with robust ultraviolet (UV)-absorbing capacities and a huge potential to be used as an environmentally friendly natural sunscreen. MAAs, temperature, and light-stable compounds demonstrate powerful photoprotective capacities and the ability to capture light in the UV-A and UV-B ranges without the production of damaging free radicals. The biotechnological uses of these secondary metabolites have been often limited by the small quantities restored from natural resources, variation in MAA expression profiles, and limited success in heterologous expression systems. Overcoming these obstacles requires a better understanding of MAA biosynthesis and its regulatory processes. MAAs are produced to a certain extent via a four-enzyme pathway, including genes encoding enzymes dehydroquinate synthase, enzyme O-methyltransferase, adenosine triphosphate grasp, and a nonribosomal peptide synthetase. However, there are substantial genetic discrepancies in the MAA genetic pathway in different species, suggesting further complexity of this pathway that is yet to be fully explored. In recent years, the application of genome-mining approaches allowed the identification of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) that resulted in the discovery of many new compounds from unconventional sources. This review explores the use of novel genomics tools for linking BGCs and secondary metabolites based on the available omics data, including MAAs, and evaluates the potential of using novel genome-mining tools to reveal a cryptic potential for new bioproduct screening approaches and unrevealing new MAA producers.

Exploring Mycosporine-like Amino Acid UV-Absorbing Natural Products for a New Generation of Environmentally Friendly Sunscreens

“…Using genome mining approaches [45,[155][156][157], the discovery of MAA biosynthetic pathways occurred through the identification of the gene counterparts in different Gram-positive bacteria [154], cyanobacteria [150,152,156,158,159], and microalgae Symbiodiniaceae [160,161]. All species capable of MAA synthesis were found to have highly similar sequences corresponding to genes from the MAA shikimate or pentose phosphate pathways [160].…”

Biotechnological Potential of Macroalgae during Seasonal Blooms for Sustainable Production of UV-Absorbing Compounds

“…However, the variability in MAA content and profiles in macroalgae and other marine species are noted to be strongly influenced by the environmental conditions, symbiosis, nutrient bioavailability (e.g., ammonium availability), as well as seasonal changes, especially variation in irradiance levels [128][129][130][131][132][133]. MAAs biotechnological potential is well recognized due to their pharmacological properties, including antioxidant capacities, the ability to suppress singlet oxygen-induced damage [127,129,134,135], anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties [136][137][138]. To be able to improve the biotechnological application and use of MAAs in cosmetics and for medical purposes, a number of challenges need to be overcome, including the lack of sufficient research regarding the steps necessary for obtaining purified MAA standards, as well as overcoming strong water solubility issues and the low yields of MAAs coming from natural resources.…”