The
take-all disease of wheat is one of the most serious diseases
in the field of food security in the world. There is no effective
biological pesticide to prevent the take-all disease of wheat. 2-Hydroxyphenazine
(2-OH-PHZ) was reported to possess a better inhibitory effect on the
take-all disease of wheat than phenazine-1-carboxylic acid, which
was registered as “Shenqinmycin” in China in 2011. The
aim of this study was to construct a 2-OH-PHZ high-producing strain
by strain screening, genome sequencing, genetic engineering, and fermentation
optimization. First, the metabolites of the previously screened new
phenazine-producing Pseudomonas sp. strain were identified,
and the taxonomic status of the new Pseudomonas sp.
strain was confirmed through 16S rRNA and matrix-assisted laser desorption
ionization–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS).
Then, the new Pseudomonas sp. strain was named Pseudomonas chlororaphis subsp. aurantiaca LX24, which is a new subspecies of P. chlororaphis that can synthesize 2-OH-PHZ. Next, the draft genome of strain LX24
was determined, and clusters of orthologous group (COG) analysis,
KEGG analysis, and gene ontology (GO) analysis of strain LX24 were
performed. Furthermore, the production of 2-OH-PHZ increased to 351.7
from 158.6 mg/L by deletion of the phenazine synthesis negative regulatory
genes rpeA and rsmE in strain LX24.
Finally, the 2-OH-PHZ production of strain LX24 reached 677.1 mg/L
after fermentation optimization, which is the highest production through
microbial fermentation reported to date. This work provides a reference
for the efficient production of other pesticides and antibiotics.