Recently, the tropical microbial functional molecules and synthetic biology research group in the Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS) has obtained an actinomycete strain from marine microbial resources in Xisha, which not only had a broad spectrum of pathogenic fungi inhibition activity in vitro, but also showed good biological control effect in vivo. The secondary metabolites conferring the broad-spectrum pathogenic fungi resistance property of this active strain was analyzed by genomics, metabolomics and activity-guided method, which laid the foundation and basis for its further development as a biological control agent for crop fungal diseases.
Fungal diseases account for more than 70% of plant diseases, which are one of the main reasons affecting crop yield. Chemical control (spraying crops with chemically synthesized pesticides) is the main method to control plant fungal diseases in agriculture. However, long-term use of pesticides not only causes the resistance of pathogens, but also the food safety and environmental pollution of drug residues are becoming increasingly serious. Therefore, it is a worldwide issue to seek green, efficient and safe methods for fungal disease control. Microbial pesticides (including living microorganisms and metabolites) have been widely concerned and applied because of their good activity, high safety and environmental friendliness. As an important producer of active compounds, actinomycetes have important application potential in the biological control of crop diseases.
Herein, a marine actinomycete strain Streptomyces sp. HNBCa1 demonstrated broad-spectrum resistance to 17 tested crop pathogenic fungi and exhibited high biocontrol efficiency against mango anthracnose and banana fusarium wilt. To uncover the critical bioactive secondary metabolites basis, genome assembly and annotation, metabolomic analysis, and a semipreparative HPLC-based activity-guide method were employed. Finally, reblastatin and geldanamycin were uncovered in response to the broad-spectrum resistance to the 17 crop pathogenic fungi, which could be further developed as a biological control agent to control crop fungal diseases.
Fig. 1 HNBCa1 exhibited good biocontrol effects on mango anthracnose and banana fusarium wilt.
Fig. 2 Comparative metabolomic method revealed key secondary metabolites related to the broad-spectrum resistance against pathogenic fungi of mango anthracnose and banana fusarium wilt.
Relevant research results were published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry under the title of “Critical Secondary Metabolites Confer the Broad-spectrum Pathogenic Fungi Resistance Property of a Marine-originating Streptomyces sp. HNBCa1”. Dr. Zijun Xiong, the group member of the tropical microbial functional substances and synthetic biology in the Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, CATAS, and Dr. Tengfei Xia, Institute of Tropical Horticulture Research of Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, are co-first authors of the paper, and Dr. Zhikai Guo, the research group PI of the tropical microbial functional substances and synthetic biology, is the corresponding author of the paper. This research was supported by the Hainan Province Science and Technology Special Fund, Natural Science Foundation of Hainan, Open Funding Project of State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Social Public-interest Scientific Institution Reform Special Fund, Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund for CATAS-ITBB), and Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences for Science and Technology Innovation Team of National Tropical Agricultural Science Center.
Article link: Critical Secondary Metabolites Confer the Broad-Spectrum Pathogenic Fungi Resistance Property of a Marine-Originating Streptomyces sp. HNBCa1 | Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (acs.org)
