Genotoxic indolimine-producing Morganella morganii NWP135

Using comparative metabolomics and bioactivity-guided natural product-discovery techniques, we discovered a unique family of genotoxic metabolites (indolimines) produced by the colorectal cancer (CRC)-associated species Morganella morganii. Through combining combinatorial pooling and transposon sequencing (Tn-Seq), we decoded the chemical and enzymatic pathways that mediate indolimine production and generated a non-genotoxic isogenic mutant of M. morganii that fails to produce indolimines. The pro-tumorigenesis effect of M. morganii is evaluated in gnotobiotic mice under mock community background.