Characterization of Toxin Complex Gene Clusters and Insect Toxicity of Bacteria Representing Four Subgroups of Pseudomonas fluorescens.

Ten strains representing four lineages of the Pseudomonas fluorescens group (P. chlororaphis, P. corrugata, P.

Rhizoxin analogs, orfamide A and chitinase production contribute to the toxicity of Pseudomonas protegens strain Pf-5 to Drosophila melanogaster.

Pseudomonas protegens strain Pf-5 is a soil bacterium that was first described for its capacity to suppress plant diseases and has since been shown to be lethal to certain insects. Among these is the common fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, a well-established model organism for studies evaluating the molecular and cellular basis of the immune response to bacterial challenge. Pf-5 produces the insect toxin FitD, but a ΔfitD mutant of Pf-5 retained full toxicity against D.

An Interspecies Signaling System Mediated by Fusaric Acid Has Parallel Effects on Antifungal Metabolite Production by Pseudomonas protegens Strain Pf-5 and Antibiosis of Fusarium spp.

Pseudomonas protegens strain Pf-5 is a rhizosphere bacterium that suppresses soilborne plant diseases and produces at least seven different secondary metabolites with antifungal properties. We derived mutants of Pf-5 with single and multiple mutations in biosynthesis genes for seven antifungal metabolites: 2,4-diacetylphoroglucinol (DAPG), pyrrolnitrin, pyoluteorin, hydrogen cyanide, rhizoxin, orfamide A, and toxoflavin. These mutants were tested for inhibition of the pathogens Fusarium verticillioides and Fusarium oxysporum f.

Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5 causes discoloration and pitting of mushroom caps due to the production of antifungal metabolites.

Bacteria in the diverse Pseudomonas fluorescens group include rhizosphere inhabitants known for their antifungal metabolite production and biological control of plant disease, such as Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5, and mushroom pathogens, such as Pseudomonas tolaasii. Here, we report that strain Pf-5 causes brown, sunken lesions on peeled caps of the button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) that resemble brown blotch symptoms caused by P. tolaasii.

Comparative genomics of plant-associated Pseudomonas spp.: insights into diversity and inheritance of traits involved in multitrophic interactions.

We provide here a comparative genome analysis of ten strains within the Pseudomonas fluorescens group including seven new genomic sequences. These strains exhibit a diverse spectrum of traits involved in biological control and other multitrophic interactions with plants, microbes, and insects. Multilocus sequence analysis placed the strains in three sub-clades, which was reinforced by high levels of synteny, size of core genomes, and relatedness of orthologous genes between strains within a sub-clade.

Lethality and developmental delay in Drosophila melanogaster larvae after ingestion of selected Pseudomonas fluorescens strains.

Background: The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is a well-established model organism for probing the molecular and cellular basis of physiological and immune system responses of adults or late stage larvae to bacterial challenge. However, very little is known about the consequences of bacterial infections that occur in earlier stages of development. We have infected mid-second instar larvae with strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens to determine how infection alters the ability of larvae to survive and complete development.

Molecular analysis of a novel gene cluster encoding an insect toxin in plant-associated strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens.

Pseudomonas fluorescens CHA0 and the related strain Pf-5 are well-characterized representatives of rhizosphere bacteria that have the capacity to protect crop plants from fungal root diseases, mainly by releasing a variety of exoproducts that are toxic to plant pathogenic fungi. Here, we report that the two plant-beneficial pseudomonads also exhibit potent insecticidal activity. Anti-insect activity is linked to a novel genomic locus encoding a large protein toxin termed Fit (for P.

Isolation and identification of rhizoxin analogs from Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf-5 by using a genomic mining strategy.

The products synthesized from a hybrid polyketide synthase/nonribosomal peptide synthetase gene cluster in the genome of Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf-5 were identified using a genomics-guided strategy involving insertional mutagenesis and subsequent metabolite profiling. Five analogs of rhizoxin, a 16-member macrolide with antifungal, phytotoxic, and antitumor activities, were produced by Pf-5, but not by a mutant with an insertion in the gene cluster. The five rhizoxin analogs, one of which had not been described previously, were differentially toxic to two agriculturally important plant pathogens, Botrytis cinerea and Phytophthora ramorum.

The genomisotopic approach: a systematic method to isolate products of orphan biosynthetic gene clusters.

With the increasing number of genomes sequenced and available in the public domain, a large number of orphan gene clusters, for which the encoded natural product is unknown, have been identified. These orphan gene clusters represent a tremendous source of novel and possibly bioactive compounds. Here, we describe a "genomisotopic approach," which employs a combination of genomic sequence analysis and isotope-guided fractionation to identify unknown compounds synthesized from orphan gene clusters containing nonribosomal peptide synthetases.

Positive autoregulation and signaling properties of pyoluteorin, an antibiotic produced by the biological control organism Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf-5.

Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf-5, a rhizosphere bacterium, produces a suite of secondary metabolites that are toxic to seed- and root-rotting plant pathogens. Among these are the polyketide compounds pyoluteorin and 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol. We provide evidence that pyoluteorin production is influenced by positive autoregulation.