Pyrrolnitrin (PRN) is a microbial pyrrole halometabolite of immense antimicrobial significance for agricultural, pharmaceutical and industrial implications. The compound and its derivatives have been isolated from rhizospheric fluorescent or non-fluorescent pseudomonads, Serratia and Burkholderia. They are known to confer biological control against a wide range of phytopathogenic fungi, and thus offer strong plant protection prospects against soil and seed-borne phytopathogenic diseases. Although chemical synthesis of PRN has been obtained using different steps, microbial production is still the most useful option for producing this metabolite. In many of the plant-associated isolates of Serratia and Burkholderia, production of PRN is dependent on the quorum-sensing regulation that usually involves N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) autoinducer signals. When applied on the organisms as antimicrobial agent, the molecule impedes synthesis of key biomolecules (DNA, RNA and protein), uncouples with oxidative phosphorylation, inhibits mitotic division and hampers several biological mechanisms. With its potential broad-spectrum activities, low phototoxicity, non-toxic nature and specificity for impacts on non-target organisms, the metabolite has emerged as a lead molecule of industrial importance, which has led to developing cost-effective methods for the biosynthesis of PRN using microbial fermentation. Quantum of work narrating focused research efforts in the emergence of this potential microbial metabolite is summarized here to present a consolidated, sequential and updated insight into the chemistry, biology and applicability of this natural molecule.

In the present study, an aerobic bacterial strains OCS-A and OCS- B were isolated from an oil contaminated soil. The strains were identified to be Citrobacter freundi and Proteus mirabilis according to morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics. The strains were able to degrade about 90% of 100 mg/L phenol within 80 h as sole carbon and energy source. The lag phase increased with increase in phenol concentration. Determination of metabolic intermediate 2-HMS, was done which indicate meta-cleavage pathway of phenol metabolism. Hence these isolates can be effectively used for bioremediation of phenol contaminated sites.

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The objective of this work was to check the ability of a siderophore, pyoverdin, a natural iron chelating compound of bacterial origin to produce silver nanoparticles (AgNps) under sunlight.

Pyrrolnitrin (PRN) from rhizobacteria displays a key role in biocontrol of phytopathogenic fungi in rhizospheric soil. Therefore, different rhizospheric soils were investigated for the prevalence of PRN producer in minimal salt (MS) medium containing tryptophan (0.2 M NaCl; pH 8) using three successive enrichments. Of 12% isolates, only five bacterial strains had shown PRN secretion, screened with Thin Layer Chromatography (Rf 0.8) and antifungal activity (27 mm) against phytopathogen. The phenetic and 16S rRNA sequence revealed the close affiliation of isolates (KMB, M-2, M-11, TW3, and TO2) to Stenotrophomonas rhizophila (KY800458), Enterobacter spp. (KY800455), Brevibacillus parabrevis (KY800454), Serratia marcescens (KY800456) and Serratia nemtodiphila (KY800457). Purified compound from isolates was characterised using UV, IR, HPLC, LCMS and GCMS as PRN. However, BLASTn hit of prn gene sequences from both Serratia species showed 99% similarity with NADPH dependent FMN reductase component (prnF). The homology protein model of prnF was developed from translated sequence of S. marcescens TW3 with chromate reductase of Escherichia coli K-12. Docking with FMN and NADPH was performed. The study demonstrated the possible role of prnF NADPH dependent FMN reductases in prnD for supply of reduced flavin in rhizobacterial strain of Serratia spp. which may pave a way to understand PRN production.