{ "abstract": "Marine microorganisms are a prolific source of novel polyketide synthases (PKSs) that generate structurally diverse and functional polyketides. Here, we identify a novel type III PKS, ArsMB, from Pontimonas sp. via metagenomic mining of a Baltic Sea microbiome. Heterologous expression of arsMB synthetic gene in an Escherichia coli host that lacks a native type III PKS, combined with a two-step strategy to boost acyl-CoA precursor availability in a glucose-mineral medium, enabled the in vivo synthesis of two cell-associated alkylresorcinols, identified by GC-MS as 5-pentadecyl-1,3-benzenediol (ars1) and 5-tridecyl-1,3-benzenediol (ars2). The product profile is consistent with a tetraketide alkylresorcinol biosynthetic pathway utilizing C16 and C14 acyl starter units, drawn from the host acyl-CoA pool. In agreement, AlphaFold2-based structural modeling predicts a Cys139/His275/Asn308 catalytic triad and a long hydrophobic substrate tunnel compatible with long-chain acyl starter units. E. coli producing the amphipathic cell-associated alkylresorcinols ars1/ars2 exhibited increased resistance to muralytic digestion by endolysins and to hydrogen peroxide. These findings expand the known repertoire of marine-derived type III PKSs and highlight the biotechnological potential of ArsMB-derived alkylresorcinols.", "abstract_shown": true, "affiliations": [ "Laboratorio de Biología Sintética, Estructural y Molecular, Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Universidad de Colima, Coquimatlán, Colima, México", "Unidad de Biología Integrativa, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A. C. (CICY), Mérida, Yucatán, México", "Departamento de Microbiología Molecular, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México", "Laboratorio de Productos Naturales, Área de Química, Departamento de Preparatoria Agrícola, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Chapingo, México", "Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México, México", "Secretaría de Ciencia, Humanidades, Tecnología e Innovación, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico", "Centro de Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad S/N Col. Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Mor, México", "Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad de Colima, Coquimatlán, Colima, México", "Secretaría de Ciencia, Humanidades, Tecnología e Innovación, Laboratorio de Biología Sintética, Estructural y Molecular, Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Biomédicas (CUIB), Universidad de Colima, Colima, México", "Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad de Colima, Tecomán, Colima, México", "Secretaría de Ciencia, Humanidades, Tecnología e Innovación, Laboratorio de Biología Sintética, Estructural y Molecular, Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Universidad de Colima, Coquimatlán, Colima, México" ], "article_type": "Research Article", "arxiv": null, "author_total": 15, "authors": [ { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Susana López-Gutiérrez" }, { "affs": [ 0, 1 ], "name": "Laura A. Espinosa-Barrera" }, { "affs": [ 2 ], "name": "Arianna Soto-Hernández" }, { "affs": [ 3 ], "name": "Holber Zuleta-Prada" }, { "affs": [ 4 ], "name": "Celia Bustos-Brito" }, { "affs": [ 5 ], "name": "César S. Cardona-Félix" }, { "affs": [ 6 ], "name": "José Utrilla" }, { "affs": [ 0, 7 ], "name": "Beatriz Velazquez-Cruz", "orcid": "0009-0004-9194-0184" }, { "affs": [ 8 ], "name": "Yair Cárdenas-Conejo" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Jesus Alfredo Araujo-León" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Victor Aguilar-Hernández" }, { "affs": [ 9 ], "name": "Juan A. Osuna-Castro", "orcid": "0000-0002-4685-5296" }, { "affs": [ 4 ], "name": "Baldomero Esquivel", "orcid": "0000-0002-7418-8603" }, { "affs": [ 10 ], "name": "Hugo Serrano-Posada", "orcid": "0000-0002-7901-475X" }, { "affs": [ 10 ], "name": "Sara Centeno-Leija", "orcid": "0000-0002-8573-4577" } ], "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7j9kxfxfrrwvs.bib", "cited_by": 0, "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0361965", "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13730376/", "id": "7j9kxfxfrrwvs", "issns": [ "1932-6203" ], "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0361965", "language": "en", "licence": "CC-BY-4.0", "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0", "licence_source": "article", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "metadata_licence": null, "native_subjects": [ [ "heading", "Animal Studies" ], [ "heading", "Antioxidants" ], [ "heading", "Bacteria" ], [ "heading", "Bacterial Pathogens" ], [ "heading", "Baltic Sea" ], [ "heading", "Biochemistry" ], [ "heading", "Biology and Life Sciences" ], [ "heading", "Biosynthesis" ], [ "heading", "Bodies of water" ], [ "heading", "Chemical Compounds" ], [ "heading", "Chemistry" ], [ "heading", "Computer and Information Sciences" ], [ "heading", "Data Management" ], [ "heading", "Earth sciences" ], [ "heading", "Enterobacteriaceae" ], [ "heading", "Escherichia" ], [ "heading", "Escherichia Coli" ], [ "heading", "Evolutionary Biology" ], [ "heading", "Evolutionary Systematics" ], [ "heading", "Experimental Organism Systems" ], [ "heading", "Gut Bacteria" ], [ "heading", "Lipids" ], [ "heading", "Lysis (Medicine)" ], [ "heading", "Marine and aquatic sciences" ], [ "heading", "Medical Microbiology" ], [ "heading", "Medicine and Health Sciences" ], [ "heading", "Microbial Pathogens" ], [ "heading", "Microbiology" ], [ "heading", "Model Organisms" ], [ "heading", "Organisms" ], [ "heading", "Pathogens" ], [ "heading", "Pathology and Laboratory Medicine" ], [ "heading", "Phenols" ], [ "heading", "Phylogenetic Analysis" ], [ "heading", "Phylogenetics" ], [ "heading", "Physical Sciences" ], [ "heading", "Physiological Processes" ], [ "heading", "Physiology" ], [ "heading", "Prokaryotic Models" ], [ "heading", "Research Article" ], [ "heading", "Research and Analysis Methods" ], [ "heading", "Taxonomy" ], [ "heading", "Tissue Repair" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Biochemistry/Antioxidants" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Biochemistry/Biosynthesis" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Biochemistry/Lipids" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Evolutionary biology/Evolutionary systematics/Phylogenetics/Phylogenetic analysis" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Microbiology/Medical microbiology/Microbial pathogens/Bacterial pathogens/Escherichia coli" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Organisms/Bacteria/Enterobacteriaceae/Escherichia/Escherichia coli" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Organisms/Bacteria/Gut bacteria/Escherichia/Escherichia coli" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Physiology/Physiological processes/Tissue repair/Lysis (medicine)" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Taxonomy/Evolutionary systematics/Phylogenetics/Phylogenetic analysis" ], [ "plos", "/Computer and information sciences/Data management/Taxonomy/Evolutionary systematics/Phylogenetics/Phylogenetic analysis" ], [ "plos", "/Earth sciences/Marine and aquatic sciences/Bodies of water/Baltic Sea" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Pathology and laboratory medicine/Pathogens/Microbial pathogens/Bacterial pathogens/Escherichia coli" ], [ "plos", "/Physical sciences/Chemistry/Chemical compounds/Phenols" ], [ "plos", "/Research and analysis methods/Animal studies/Experimental organism systems/Model organisms/Escherichia coli" ], [ "plos", "/Research and analysis methods/Animal studies/Experimental organism systems/Prokaryotic models/Escherichia coli" ], [ "plos", "/Research and analysis methods/Model organisms/Escherichia coli" ] ], "openalex": null, "pdf_url": null, "pmcid": "PMC13730376", "pmid": "42976166", "published": "2026-11-03", "publisher": "Public Library of Science", "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7j9kxfxfrrwvs.ris", "sources": [ { "first_seen": "2026-11-04T12:20:43Z", "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0361965", "source": "plos", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0361965" }, { "first_seen": "2026-11-07T12:22:57Z", "native_id": "PMC13730376", "source": "pmc", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0361965" } ], "subjects": [ { "field": "biochemistry", "origin": "heading:Biochemistry", "subfield": "general" }, { "field": "biology", "origin": "plos:evolutionary biology", "subfield": "evolutionary-biology" }, { "field": "biology", "origin": "plos:microbiology", "subfield": "microbiology" }, { "field": "chemistry", "origin": "heading:Chemistry", "subfield": "general" }, { "field": "medicine", "origin": "plos:physiology", "subfield": "physiology" } ], "title": "A Baltic Sea microbiome-derived Type III polyketide synthase produces host-protective alkylresorcinols in E. coli", "title_text": "A Baltic Sea microbiome-derived Type III polyketide synthase produces host-protective alkylresorcinols in E. coli", "type": "peer-reviewed", "updated_at": "2026-11-07T12:22:57Z", "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7j9kxfxfrrwvs", "venue": "PLOS One", "versions": [] }