Ergothioneine Is a Secreted Antioxidant in Mycobacterium smegmatis
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Ergothioneine (ERG) and mycothiol (MSH) are two low-molecular-weight thiols synthesized by mycobacteria. The role of MSH has been extensively investigated in mycobacteria; however, little is known about the role of ERG in mycobacterial physiology. In this study, quantification of ERG at various points in the growth cycle of Mycobacterium smegmatis revealed that a significant portion of ERG is found in the culture media, suggesting that it is actively secreted. A mutant of M. smegmatis lacking egtD ( MSMEG_6247 ) was unable to synthesize ERG, confirming its role in ERG biosynthesis. Deletion of egtD from wild-type M. smegmatis and an MSH-deficient mutant did not affect their susceptibility to antibiotics tested in this study. The ERG- and MSH-deficient double mutant was significantly more sensitive to peroxide than either of the single mutants lacking either ERG or MSH, suggesting that both thiols play a role in protecting M. smegmatis against oxidative stress and that ERG is able to partly compensate for the loss of MSH.
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In M. tuberculosis and other mycobacteria, other actinobacteria and fungi, ERG can have a role as an antioxidant and act as a buffer against reductive stress.
“In M. tuberculosis and other mycobacteria(254), and also in other actinobacteria(255) and in fungi(247,256,257), it is clear that ERG can have a role as an antioxidant(66,258–260) and also act as a buffer against reductive stress(261).”
From The biology of ergothioneine, an antioxidant nutraceutical (2020) · cites this paper as [254]
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Biosynthesis of Ergothioneine from Endogenous Hercynine in <i>Mycobacterium smegmatis</i>
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The biology of ergothioneine, an antioxidant nutraceutical
Borodina, I., Kenny, L. C., McCarthy, C. M., Paramasivan, K., Pretorius, E., Roberts, T. J., van der Hoek, S. A., & Kell, D. B. (2020) · Nutrition Research Reviews · doi:10.1017/s0954422419000301 · Cited by 296 · see citing works
“tuberculosis and other mycobacteria(254), and also in other actinobacteria(255) and in fungi(247,256,257), it is clear that ERG can have a role as an antioxidant(66,258–260) and also act”
BackgroundErgothioneine, an adaptive antioxidant for the protection of injured tissues? A hypothesis
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The evolutionary history of the genes involved in the biosynthesis of the antioxidant ergothioneine
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Ergothioneine protects Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) from oxidative stresses
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- Authors
- Sao Emani, C., Williams, M. J., Wiid, I. J., Hiten, N. F., Viljoen, A. J., Pietersen, R.-D. D., van Helden, P. D., & Baker, B.
- Affiliations
- DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research, MRC Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- University of Cape Town (ZA)
- Stellenbosch University (ZA)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
- Publisher
- American Society for Microbiology
- Published
- 2013-07
- Volume
- 57
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 3202-3207
- ISSN
- 0066-4804 (ISSN-L)
- 1098-6596
- PMC
- PMC3697313
- OpenAlex
- W2142705616
- Cited by
- 81
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 3.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- SUNScholar (Stellenbosch University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Redox biology and oxidative stress
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biochemistry › Sulfur Compounds in Biology
- Keywords
- ergothioneine, mycothiol, Mycobacterium smegmatis, antioxidant defense, oxidative stress, hydrogen peroxide sensitivity, antibiotic susceptibility, biosynthesis
- MeSH terms
- Antioxidants, Bacterial Proteins, Culture Media, Cysteine, Ergothioneine, Glycopeptides, Inositol, Microbial Sensitivity Tests, Mutation, Oxidative Stress, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Drug Resistance, Bacterial
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