<i>Pantoea agglomerans</i>: a mysterious bacterium of evil and good. Part IV. Beneficial effects

Abstract

Pantoea agglomerans, a gammaproteobacterium of plant origin, possesses many beneficial traits that could be used for the prevention and/or treatment of human and animal diseases, combating plant pathogens, promotion of plant growth and bioremediation of the environment. It produces a number of antibiotics (herbicolin, pantocins, microcin, agglomerins, andrimid, phenazine, among others) which could be used for combating plant, animal and human pathogens or for food preservation. Japanese researchers have demonstrated that the low-molecular-mass lipopolysaccharide of P. agglomerans isolated by them and described as 'Immunopotentiator from Pantoea agglomerans 1 (IP-PA1)' reveals the extremely wide spectrum of healing properties, mainly due to its ability for the maintenance of homeostasis by macrophage activation. IP-PA1 was proved to be effective in the prevention and treatment of a broad range of human and animal disorders, such as tumours, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes, ulcer, various infectious diseases, atopic allergy and stress-induced immunosuppression; it also showed a strong analgesic effect. It is important that most of these effects could be achieved by the safe oral administration of IP-PA1. Taking into account that P. agglomerans occurs commonly as a symbiont of many species of insects, including mosquitoes transmitting the Plasmodium parasites causing malaria, successful attempts were made to apply the strategy of paratransgenesis, in which bacterial symbionts are genetically engineered to express and secrete anti-Plasmodium effector proteins. This strategy shows prospects for a successful eradication of malaria, a deadly disease killing annually over one million people, as well as of other vector-borne diseases of humans, animals and plants. Pantoea agglomerans has been identified as an antagonist of many plant pathogens belonging to bacteria and fungi, as a result of antibiotic production, competition mechanisms or induction of plant resistance. Its use as a biocontrol agent permits the decrease of pesticide doses, being a healthy and environmental-friendly procedure. The application of the preparations of this bacterium efficiently protects the stored pome, stone and citrus fruits against invasion of moulds. P. agglomerans strains associated with both rhizosphere and plant tissues (as endophytes) efficiently promote the growth of many plants, including rice and wheat, which are the staple food for the majority of mankind. The promotion mechanisms are diverse and include fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, production of phytohormones, as well as degradation of phytate and phosphate solubilizing which makes the soil phosphorus available for plants. Accordingly, P. agglomerans is regarded as an ideal candidate for an environmental-friendly bioinoculant replacing chemical fertilizers. It has been documented that the Pantoea strains show biodegradation activity on various chemical pollutants of soil and water, including petroleum hydrocarbons and toxic metals. P. agglomerans prevents the penetration of harmful...

Coliforms Contamination in Raw Milk and Some Dairy Products with Special Reference to Comparative Identification of Enterobacter spp.

“…Blood stream infection can lead to disseminated disease and end-organ infection, mainly septic arthritis, endophthalmitis, periostitis, endocarditis and osteomyelitis in humans [34]. [38] compared between the burker MALDI-TOF MS and conventional phenotypic and found an agreement with a percentage of 95.4.…”

Acute hypersensitivity pneumonitis in woodworkers caused by inhalation of birch dust contaminated with <i>Pantoea agglomerans</i> and <i>Microbacterium barkeri</i>

“…The bacterium also occurs abundantly in plant and animal products, in the body of arthropods and other animals, in water, soil, dust and air, and occasionally in humans. From the human viewpoint, the role of this organism is ambiguous -both deleterious and beneficial: on the one hand it causes disorders in people exposed to the inhalation of organic dusts and diseases of crops, and on the other, it produces substances effective in the treatment of cancer and other diseases of humans and animals, suppresses the development of various plant pathogens by antibiotic production and/or competition, promotes plant growth by nitrogen fixation and other mechanisms, and appears as a potentially efficient biofertilizer and bio-remediator [57,58]. P. agglomerans has been found in the airborne and settled grain dust [59,60] and has been identified as a common cause of HP in the Polish agricultural workers exposed to the inhalation of plant dusts, mostly from grain [33,61,62], less often from flour [61,62], clover [33] and herbs [63].…”

“…This finding was evidenced by the inhalation challenge which was distinctly positive in all the workers showing HP symptoms. As Pantoea agglomerans produces a biologically potent endotoxin [65,66] which may cause respiratory disorders in workers exposed to dust from cotton, grain and other plant products [57,58,60], the possibility was considered before testing of an unspecific respiratory response that could be elicited by this substance; therefore, the inhalation tests were carefully calibrated to avoid a diagnostic mistake. Accordingly, the allergenic extract of P. agglomerans for inhalation challenge was strongly diluted in saline to the concentration of 20 mg/ml, which did not provoke any reaction in healthy human volunteers.…”

Simultaneous Discovery of Positive and Negative Interactions Among Root Microbiome Bacteria Using Microwell Recovery Arrays

“…YR343 can also colonize Triticum aestivum and stimulate lateral root formation (27,28). Likewise, related Pantoea strains have garnered interest for antibiotic production (33,34), bioremediation and waste recycling (35,36), and cancer treatment (37,38). On the other hand, other Pantoea sp.…”