Symbiotic Cooperation in the Biosynthesis of a Phytotoxin

Abstract

Division of labor: A combination of genetic, microbial, and chemical analyses solved the riddle of the dual epoxidation in the biosynthesis of rhizoxin, the causative agent of rice seedling blight. Bacterial endosymbionts of Rhizopus microsporus mediate the first epoxidation by a dedicated cytochrome P450 monooxygenase. The second oxirane ring is introduced by the fungal host and results in a substantially increased potency of the phytotoxin. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.