Pseudomonas chlororaphis PCL1606 synthesizes the antifungal antibiotic 2-hexyl, 5-propyl resorcinol (HPR), which is crucial for the biocontrol of fungal soil-borne pathogens. The genetic basis for HPR production lies in the dar genes, which are directly involved in the biosynthesis of HPR. In the present study, we elucidated the genetic features of the dar genes. Reverse transcription PCR experiments revealed an independent organization of the dar genes, except for darBC, which was transcribed as a polycistronic mRNA. In silico analysis of each gene revealed putative promoters and terminator sequences, validating the proposed gene arrangement. Moreover, experiments utilizing 59 rapid amplification of cDNA ends were used to determine the transcriptional initiation sites for the darA, darBC, darS and darR gene promoters, and subsequently to confirm the functionality of these regions. The results of quantitative real-time PCR experiments indicated that biosynthetic dar genes were not only modulated through the global regulator gacS, but also through darS and darR. The interplay between darS and darR revealed transcriptional cross-inhibition. However, these results also showed that other regulatory parameters play a role in HPR production, such as the environmental conditions and additional regulatory genes.
INTRODUCTIONPseudomonas chlororaphis PCL1606, isolated from the rhizospheres of healthy avocado trees, has been used in previous studies as an antagonist bacterial strain against different soilborne phytopathogenic fungi, including Rosellinia necatrix, the causal agent of avocado white root rot, and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici, the causal agent of tomato crown and foot rot (Cazorla et al., 2006). The antifungal antibiotic 2-hexyl, 5-propyl resorcinol (HPR) is a major factor in the antagonistic phenotype of this rhizobacterium (Cazorla et al., 2006), and recent studies have demonstrated a crucial role for this antibiotic in the biocontrol of R. necatrix and F. oxysporum (Calderó n et al., 2013; González-Sánchez et al., 2010).HPR was first detected in an unidentified Pseudomonas sp., and exhibited moderate antifungal and antibacterial properties . The genetic basis for HPR production was first examined in P. chlororaphis subsp. auranthiaca BL915. In this strain, the genes responsible for HPR production are located in a cluster containing three presumptive biosynthetic genes (darA, darB and darC), followed by two independent sequences homologous to the regulatory genes from the AraC/XylS family (darS and darR; Nowak- Thompson et al., 2003). This dar cluster has recently been identified in P. chlororaphis PCL1606 (Calderó n et al., 2013). The construction of insertion mutants for each homologous dar gene in P. chlororaphis PCL1606 and the corresponding complementary derivative strains restoring HPR production revealed a key role for darA and darB genes in both HPR biosynthesis and the antagonistic phenotype (Calderó n et al., 2013). A minor role in HPR biosynthesis has been proposed for darC, as de...