To settle or to move? The interplay between two classes of cyclic lipopeptides in the biocontrol strain Pseudomonas CMR12a.

Pseudomonas CMR12a is a biocontrol strain that produces phenazine antibiotics and as yet uncharacterized cyclic lipopeptides (CLPs). The CLPs of CMR12a were studied by chemical structure analysis and in silico analysis of the gene clusters encoding the non-ribosomal peptide synthetases responsible for CLP biosynthesis. CMR12a produces two different classes of CLPs: orfamides B, D and E, whereby the latter two represent new derivatives of the orfamide family, and sessilins A-C. The orfamides are made up of a 10 amino acid peptide coupled to a β-hydroxydodecanoyl or β-hydroxytetradecanoyl fatty acid moiety, and are related to orfamides produced by biocontrol strain Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5. The sessilins consist of an 18-amino acid peptide linked to a β-hydroxyoctanoyl fatty acid and differ in one amino acid from tolaasins, toxins produced by the mushroom pathogen Pseudomonas tolaasii. CLP biosynthesis mutants were constructed and tested for biofilm formation and swarming motility. Orfamides appeared indispensable for swarming while sessilin mutants showed reduced biofilm formation, but enhanced swarming motility. The interplay between the two classes of CLPs fine tunes these processes. The presence of sessilins in wild type CMR12a interferes with swarming by hampering the release of orfamides and by co-precipitating orfamides to form a white line in agar.

D'aes J ，Kieu NP ，Léclère V ，Tokarski C ，Olorunleke FE ，De Maeyer K ，Jacques P ，Höfte M ，Ongena M ... -  《-》

Coregulation of the cyclic lipopeptides orfamide and sessilin in the biocontrol strain Pseudomonas sp. CMR12a.

Cyclic lipopeptides (CLPs) are synthesized by nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS), which are often flanked by LuxR-type transcriptional regulators. Pseudomonas sp. CMR12a, an effective biocontrol strain, produces two different classes of CLPs namely sessilins and orfamides. The orfamide biosynthesis gene cluster is flanked up- and downstream by LuxR-type regulatory genes designated ofaR1 and ofaR2, respectively, whereas the sessilin biosynthesis gene cluster has one LuxR-type regulatory gene which is situated upstream of the cluster and is designated sesR. Our study investigated the role of these three regulators in the biosynthesis of orfamides and sessilins. Phylogenetic analyses positioned OfaR1 and OfaR2 with LuxR regulatory proteins of similar orfamide-producing Pseudomonas strains and the SesR with that of the tolaasin producer, Pseudomonas tolaasii. LC-ESI-MS analyses revealed that sessilins and orfamides are coproduced and that production starts in the late exponential phase. However, sessilins are secreted earlier and in large amounts, while orfamides are predominantly retained in the cell. Deletion mutants in ofaR1 and ofaR2 lost the capacity to produce both orfamides and sessilins, whereas the sesR mutant showed no clear phenotype. Additionally, RT-PCR analysis showed that in the sessilin cluster, a mutation in either ofaR1 or ofaR2 led to weaker transcripts of the biosynthesis genes, sesABC, and putative transporter genes, macA1B1. In the orfamide cluster, mainly the biosynthesis genes ofaBC were affected, while the first biosynthesis gene ofaA and putative macA2B2 transport genes were still transcribed. A mutation in either ofaR1, ofaR2, or sesR genes did not abolish the transcription of any of the other two.

Olorunleke FE ，Kieu NP ，De Waele E ，Timmerman M ，Ongena M ，Höfte M ... -  《MicrobiologyOpen》

Interplay between orfamides, sessilins and phenazines in the control of Rhizoctonia diseases by Pseudomonas sp. CMR12a.

We investigated the role of phenazines and cyclic lipopeptides (CLPs) (orfamides and sessilins), antagonistic metabolites produced by Pseudomonas sp. CMR12a, in the biological control of damping-off disease on Chinese cabbage (Brassica chinensis) caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG 2-1 and root rot disease on bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) caused by R. solani AG 4-HGI. A Pseudomonas mutant that only produced phenazines suppressed damping-off disease on Chinese cabbage to the same extent as CMR12a, while its efficacy to reduce root rot on bean was strongly impaired. In both pathosystems, the phenazine mutant that produced both CLPs was equally effective, but mutants that produced only one CLP lost biocontrol activity. In vitro microscopic assays revealed that mutants that only produced sessilins or orfamides inhibited mycelial growth of R. solani when applied together, while they were ineffective on their own. Phenazine-1-carboxamide suppressed mycelial growth of R. solani AG 2-1 but had no effect on AG 4-HGI. Orfamide B suppressed mycelial growth of both R. solani anastomosis groups in a dose-dependent way. Our results point to an additive interaction between both CLPs. Moreover, phenazines alone are sufficient to suppress Rhizoctonia disease on Chinese cabbage, while they need to work in tandem with the CLPs on bean.

Olorunleke FE ，Hua GK ，Kieu NP ，Ma Z ，Höfte M ... -  《Environmental Microbiology Reports》

Biosynthesis, Chemical Structure, and Structure-Activity Relationship of Orfamide Lipopeptides Produced by Pseudomonas protegens and Related Species.

Ma Z ，Geudens N ，Kieu NP ，Sinnaeve D ，Ongena M ，Martins JC ，Höfte M ... -  《Frontiers in Microbiology》

Biological control of Rhizoctonia root rot on bean by phenazine- and cyclic lipopeptide-producing Pseudomonas CMR12a.

D'aes J ，Hua GK ，De Maeyer K ，Pannecoucque J ，Forrez I ，Ongena M ，Dietrich LE ，Thomashow LS ，Mavrodi DV ，Höfte M ... -  《PHYTOPATHOLOGY》