Data from: Mining for NRPS and PKS genes revealed a high diversity in the Sphagnum bog metagenome

Sphagnum bog ecosystems are one of the oldest vegetation forms harbouring a specific microbial community, which is known to produce an exceptionally wide variety of bioactive substances. Although the Sphagnum metagenome indicate a rich secondary metabolism, the genes are not yet explored. To analyse non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS) and polyketide synthases (PKS) the diversity of NRPS and PKS genes in Sphagnum-associated metagenome was investigated by in silico data mining and sequence-based screening (PCR-amplification of 9500 fosmid clones). The in silico Illumina-based metagenomic approach resulted in the identification of 279 NRPS, 346 PKS, as well as 40 PKS-NRPS hybrid gene sequences. Occurrence of NRPS sequences was strongly dominated by the phyla Protebacteria, especially by the genus Burkholderia, while PKS sequences were mainly affiliated to Actinobacteria. Thirteen novel NRPS-related sequences were identified by PCR-amplification screening, displaying amino acid sequence identities of 48 to 91% to annotated sequences of the phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Cyanobacteria. Some of the identified metagenomic clones showed closest similarity to peptide synthases from Burkholderia or Lysobacter, which are emerging bacterial sources of yet undescribed bioactive metabolites. This study highlights the role of the extreme natural ecosystems as a promising source for detection of secondary compounds and enzymes, serving as a source for biotechnological applications.