Extracting herbicide and antibiotic natural products from a plant-microbe interaction system

Abstract

Plants and their associated microbes live in complicated, changeable, and unpredictable environments. They usually interact with each other in many ways by proceeding in multidimensional, multi-scale and multi-level coupling manners, leading to challenges of the co-existence of randomness and determinism, or continuity and discreteness. Gaining a deeper understanding of these diverse interaction mechanisms can facilitate the development of new data mining theories and methods for complex systems, new coupled modelling for the system with different spatiotemporal scales and functional properties, or even universal theory of information and information interactions. In this study, we use a close-loop model to present a plant-microbe interaction system and describe the probable functions from the microbial natural products. Specifically, we report a rhizosphere species, Streptomyces ginsengnesis G7, which produces polyketide lydicamycins and other active metabolites. Interestingly, these distinct molecules have the potential to function both as antibiotics and herbicides for crop protection. Detailed laboratory experiments combined with comprehensive bioinformatics analysis allow us to rationalise a model for this specific plant-microbe interaction process. Our work reveals the benefits of exploring otherwise neglectable resources for the identification of novel functional molecules and provides a good reference to better understand the system biology in the complex ecosystems.

Unlocking the biosynthetic regulation role of polyketide alkaloid lydicamycins

“…[1][2][3][4] Our recent study has documented the biosynthesis of lydicamycins from Streptomyces ginsengnesis G7 (referred to G7 hereinafter), a protective species endemic to the rhizospheric environment of ginseng. 5,6 Notably, the lydicamycin biosynthetic trajectory is orchestrated through a hybrid PKS-NRPS assembly line, with minimal post-translational modifications. Of particular intrigue, our investigation unveiled an expansive array of lydicamycin congeners, numbering over twenty, beyond the previously characterized compounds 1-5 (Fig.…”

“…In our current work, in light of the agricultural significance as highlighted in our recent research, 6 we aimed to explore the regulatory mechanisms governing lydicamycin biosynthesis. In the course of this study, we generated a series of mutant strains of G7, with one particular mutant, G7_lyd67, featuring the overexpression of a LuxR transcriptional regulator, demonstrating a substantial increase in lydicamycin production.…”

“…This is of significant agricultural importance, as it has the potential to serve as an effective herbicide for weed control and crop protection, as demonstrated in our very recent study. 6 The LuxR protein was first identified in bacterium Vibrio fischeri and the term ''lux'' stands for bioluminescence. 14 As transcriptional regulators, LuxR family proteins play a crucial role in quorum sensing (QS) by regulating the specific genes involved in virulence factors and antibiotic biosynthesis, motility, nodulation, plasmid transfer, bioluminescence, and biofilm formation.…”