Efficient production of a cyclic dipeptide (cyclo-TA) using heterologous expression system of filamentous fungus Aspergillus oryzae

BACKGROUND: Cyclic dipeptides are an important class of natural products owing to their structural diversity and biological activities. In fungi, the cyclo-ring system is formed through the condensation of two α-amino acids via non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS). However, there are few investigations on the functional identification of this enzyme. Additionally, information on how to increase the production of cyclic dipeptide molecules is relatively scarce. RESULTS: We isolated the Eurotium cristatum NWAFU-1 fungus from Jing-Wei Fu brick tea, whose fermentation metabolites contain echinulin-related cyclic dipeptide molecules. We cloned the cirC gene, encoding an NRPS, from E. Cristatum NWAFU-1 and transferred it into the heterologous host Aspergillus oryzae. This transformant produced a novel metabolite possessing an l-tryptophan-l-alanine cyclic dipeptide backbone (Cyclo-TA). Based on the results of heterologous expression and microsomal catalysis, CriC is the first NRPS characterized in fungi that catalyzes the formation of a cyclic dipeptide from l-tryptophan and l-alanine. After substrate feeding, the final yield reached 34 mg/L. In this study, we have characterized a novel NRPS and developed a new method for cyclic dipeptide production. CONCLUSIONS: In this study we successfully expressed the E. Cristatum NWAFU-1 criC gene in A. oryzae to efficiently produce cyclic dipeptide compounds. Our findings indicate that the A. oryzae heterologous expression system constitutes an efficient method for the biosynthesis of fungal Cyclic dipeptides. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12934-022-01872-8.