Type III polyketide synthases in lichen mycobionts

Lichenized and non-lichenized fungi produce a wide range of secondary metabolites. So far, type I polyketide synthases (PKSs) are the suggested catalysts for the biosynthesis of lichen compounds. We were interested whether lichen mycobionts also contain type III PKSs, representing a class that was only recently discovered in fungi. With an alignment of known type III CHS-like genes we applied the CODEHOP strategy to design degenerate PCR primers. We further screened available fungal genomes for type III PKS genes and aligned these sequences for a phylogenetic analysis. Type III-like genes from lichen mycobionts are closely related to those known from non-lichenized fungi, but not to those of bacteria and/or plants. We conclude that type III PKS genes are ubiquitous in fungi. They are present in diverse unrelated lichen mycobionts, but their function in lichens is so far unclear.