Fungal-bacterial interaction selects for quorum sensing mutants with 2 increased production of natural antifungal compounds

ALBARRACÍN ORIO A; PETRAS D; TOBARES RA; ASKENOV AA; WANG M; JUNCOSA F; SAYAGO P; MOYANO AJ; DORRESTEIN P; SMANIA AM

Communications Biology

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2020

oil microorganisms coexist and interact showing antagonistic or mutualistic behaviors. Here,we show that an environmental strain of Bacillus subtilis undergoes heritable phenotypicvariation upon interaction with the soil fungal pathogen Setophoma terrestris (ST). Metabolomicsanalysis revealed differential profiles in B. subtilis before (pre-ST) and after (post-ST)interacting with the fungus, which paradoxically involved the absence of lipopeptides surfactinand plipastatin and yet acquisition of antifungal activity in post-ST variants. The profileof volatile compounds showed that 2-heptanone and 2-octanone were the most discriminatingmetabolites present at higher concentrations in post-ST during the interactionprocess. Both ketones showed strong antifungal activity, which was lost with the addition ofexogenous surfactin. Whole-genome analyses indicate that mutations in ComQPXA quorum-sensing system, constituted the genetic bases of post-ST conversion, which rewired B. subtilis metaboli