Patrick Fickers

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens GA1 as a source of potent antibiotics and other secondary metabolites for biocontrol of plant pathogens.

BackgroundPhytopathogenic fungi affecting crop and post-harvested vegetables are a major threat to food production and food storage. To face these drawbacks, producers have become increasingly dependent on agrochemicals. However, intensive use of these compounds has led to the emergence of pathogen resistance and severe negative environmental impacts. There are also a number of plant diseases for which chemical solutions are ineffective or non-existent as well as an increasing demand by consumers for pesticide-free food. Thus, biological control through the use of natural antagonistic microorganisms has emerged as a promising alternative to chemical pesticides for more rational and safe crop management.ResultsThe genome of the plant-associated B. amyloliquefaciens GA1 was sample sequenced. Several gene clusters involved in the synthesis of biocontrol agents were detected. Four gene clusters were shown to direct the synthesis of the cyclic lipopeptides surfactin, iturin A and fengycin as well as the iron-siderophore bacillibactin. Beside these non-ribosomaly synthetised peptides, three additional gene clusters directing the synthesis of the antibacterial polyketides macrolactin, bacillaene and difficidin were identified. Mass spectrometry analysis of culture supernatants led to the identification of these secondary metabolites, hence demonstrating that the corresponding biosynthetic gene clusters are functional in strain GA1. In addition, genes encoding enzymes involved in synthesis and export of the dipeptide antibiotic bacilysin were highlighted. However, only its chlorinated derivative, chlorotetaine, could be detected in culture supernatants. On the contrary, genes involved in ribosome-dependent synthesis of bacteriocin and other antibiotic peptides were not detected as compared to the reference strain B. amyloliquefaciens FZB42.ConclusionThe production of all of these antibiotic compounds highlights B. amyloliquefaciens GA1 as a good candidate for the development of biocontrol agents.

The lipases from Yarrowia lipolytica: genetics, production, regulation, biochemical characterization and biotechnological applications.

Lipases are serine hydrolases that catalyze in nature the hydrolysis of ester bonds of long chain triacylglycerol into fatty acid and glycerol. However, in favorable thermodynamic conditions, they are also able to catalyze reactions of synthesis such as esterification or amidation. The non-conventional yeast Yarrowia lipolytica possesses 16 paralogs of genes coding for lipase. However, little information on all those paralogs has been yet obtained and only three isoenzymes, namely Lip2p, Lip7p and Lip8p have been partly characterized so far. Microarray data suggest that only a few of them could be expressed and that lipase synthesis seems to be dependent on the fatty acid or oil used as carbon source confirming the high adaptation of Y. lipolytica to hydrophobic substrate utilization. This review focuses on the biochemical characterization of those enzymes with special emphasis on the Lip2p lipase which is the isoenzyme mainly synthesized by Y. lipolytica. Crystallographic data highlight that this latter is a lipase sensu stricto with a lid covering the active site of the enzyme in its closed conformation. Recent findings on enzyme conditioning in dehydrated or liquid formulation, in enzyme immobilization by entrapment in natural polymers from either organic or mineral origins are also discussed together with long-term storage strategies. The development of various biotechnological applications in different fields such as cheese ripening, waste treatment, drug synthesis or human therapeutics is also presented.

Carbon and nitrogen sources modulate lipase production in the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica.

Aims:  To analyse the influence of nitrogen and carbon sources on extracellular lipase production by Yarrowia lipolytica‐overproducing mutant in order to optimize its production in large‐scale bioreactors.

The lipopeptides mycosubtilin and surfactin enhance spreading of Bacillus subtilis strains by their surface-active properties

The colonizing behaviour and the pellicle formation of Bacillus subtilis strains producing different families of lipopeptides were evaluated under several cultural conditions. The pattern of lipopeptides produced determined the architecture of the colony on a swarming medium as well as the flotation and the thickness of the pellicle formed at the air/liquid interface. The overproduction of mycosubtilin, a lipopeptide of the iturin family, led to increased spreading but had no effect on pellicle formation. A physico-chemical approach was developed to gain an insight into the mode of action of the biosurfactants facilitating the colonization. A relationship between surface tension of the culture medium and spreading of a lipopeptide non-producing strain, B. subtilis 168, was established. Goniometry was used to highlight the modification of the in situ wettability in the area where spreading was enhanced. On a solid medium, co-cultures of a surfactin producing with other strains showed a diffusion ring of the surfactin around the colony. This ring characterized by a higher wettability favoured the propagation of other colonies.

Overproduction of lipase by Yarrowia lipolytica mutants

Non-genetically modified mutants with increased capacities of extracellular lipase production were obtained from Yarrowia lipolytica strain CBS6303 by chemical mutagenesis. Of the 400 mutants isolated, LgX64.81 had the highest potential for the development of an industrial lipase production process. This mutant exhibits lipase production uncoupled from catabolite repression by glucose, and a 10-fold increased productivity upon addition of oleic acid. Using a LIP2-LacZ reporter gene, we demonstrate that the mutant phenotype originates from a trans-acting mutation. The glucose uptake capacity of LgX64.81 is reduced 2.5-fold compared to the wild-type-strain, and it exhibits high lipase production on glucose medium. A trans-acting mutation in a gene involved in glucose transport could thus explain this mutant phenotype.

Bacillus-Based Biological Control of Plant Diseases

Plant diseases cause considerable losses in crop production and storage. Nowadays, growers still rely heavily on chemical pesticides to prevent, or control these diseases. However, the high effectiveness and ease of utilization of these chemicals can result in environmental contamination and the presence of pesticide residues on food, in addition to social and economic problems. Consequently, there is an increasing demand from consumers and officials to reduce the use of chemical pesticides. In this context, biological control through the use of natural antagonistic microorganisms has emerged as a promising alternative. Indeed, these biopesticides present many advantages in term of sustainability, mode of action and toxicity compared to chemical pesticides. Here, we focus in details on the versatile utilization of Bacillus based products as biopesticides. More precisely, a special emphasis is given to the three main specific mechanisms involved in biocontrol of plant diseases by this bacterial genus: competition for ecological niche/substrate in the rhizosphere, production of inhibitory chemicals and induction of so-called systemic resistance in host plants. Beside this, strategies for enhancing the efficacy of Bacillus-based biopesticides are also discussed.

High-level biosynthesis of the anteiso-C(17) isoform of the antibiotic mycosubtilin in Bacillus subtilis and characterization of its candidacidal activity.

ABSTRACT High-level production (880 mg liter−1) and isolation of the anteiso-C17 isoform of the lipopeptide mycosubtilin produced by a genetically engineered Bacillus subtilis strain are reported. Antifungal activity of this isoform, as determined via culture and fluorometric and cell leakage assays, suggests its potential therapeutic use as an antifungal agent, in particular against Candida spp.

Fungal Lipase Production by Solid-State Fermentation

Lipases are one of the most promising enzymes in the chemical and biopharmaceutical industries. Numerous applications have been reported including fine chemistry, detergents formulation and biodiesel synthesis. Lipases are commonly produced by a wide variety of yeasts and filamentous fungi in submerged fermentation or solid-state fermentation. Filamentous fungi and yeasts usually behave more efficiently in solid-state fermentation and show greater productivities when compared to submerged fermentation. Although filamentous fungi adequately growth in solid-state fermentation, there are some limitations for cultivating them by this process. Here, a review is made about lipase production in solid-state fermentation. This includes the analysis of solid-state fermentation as a promising technology, characterization of growth media and ambient factors such as moisture, pH and temperature.

Characterization of amylolysin, a novel lantibiotic from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens GA1.

Background Lantibiotics are heat-stable peptides characterized by the presence of thioether amino acid lanthionine and methyllanthionine. They are capable to inhibit the growth of Gram-positive bacteria, including Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus or Bacillus cereus, the causative agents of food-borne diseases or nosocomial infections. Lantibiotic biosynthetic machinery is encoded by gene cluster composed by a structural gene that codes for a pre-lantibiotic peptide and other genes involved in pre-lantibiotic modifications, regulation, export and immunity. Methodology/Findings Bacillus amyloliquefaciens GA1 was found to produce an antimicrobial peptide, named amylolysin, active on an array of Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin resistant S. aureus. Genome characterization led to the identification of a putative lantibiotic gene cluster that comprises a structural gene (amlA) and genes involved in modification (amlM), transport (amlT), regulation (amlKR) and immunity (amlFE). Disruption of amlA led to loss of biological activity, confirming thus that the identified gene cluster is related to amylolysin synthesis. MALDI-TOF and LC-MS analysis on purified amylolysin demonstrated that this latter corresponds to a novel lantibiotic not described to date. The ability of amylolysin to interact in vitro with the lipid II, the carrier of peptidoglycan monomers across the cytoplasmic membrane and the presence of a unique modification gene suggest that the identified peptide belongs to the group B lantibiotic. Amylolysin immunity seems to be driven by only two AmlF and AmlE proteins, which is uncommon within the Bacillus genus. Conclusion/Significance Apart from mersacidin produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strains Y2 and HIL Y-85,544728, reports on the synthesis of type B-lantibiotic in this species are scarce. This study reports on a genetic and structural characterization of another representative of the type B lantibiotic in B. amyloliquefaciens.

Temperature dependence of mycosubtilin homologue production in Bacillus subtilis ATCC6633.

Bacillus subtilis ATCC6633 produces mycosubtilin, a non-ribosomally synthesized lipopeptide of the iturin family which presents antagonistic activities toward various phytopathogens. Different homologues with fatty acid moiety varying from C15 to C17 are usually co-produced, with their biological activities increasing with the number of carbons in the fatty acid chain. In the present report, we highlight that growth temperature modulates both the extent of mycosubtilin production and the relative abundance of the different homologues. A 30-fold increase in mycosubtilin production was observed when the temperature was decreased from 37 degrees C to 25 degrees C for both strain ATCC6633 and its derivative BBG100, a constitutive mycosubtilin overproducer. However, no significant difference in either the expression of the mycosubtilin synthetase encoding genes or in the intracellular synthetase concentration could be found, suggesting that the observed phenotype originated from a higher mycosubtilin synthetase turnover at lower temperature. We also point out that lower growth temperature leads to an increased proportion of odd-numbered fatty acid homologues as a consequence of de novo synthesis of C17 anteiso fatty acid following cell adaptation to low temperatures.