Leiden University Scholarly Publications

Lyng, M.; Jørgensen, J.P.B.; Schostag, M.D.; Jarmusch, S.A.; Aguilar, D.K.C.; Lozano-Andrade, C.N.; Kovács, A.T. (2024)

Competition for iron shapes metabolic antagonism between Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas marginalis

Article / Letter to editor

Siderophores have long been implicated in sociomicrobiology as determinants of bacterial interrelations. For plant-associated genera, like Bacillus and Pseudomonas, siderophores are well known for their biocontrol functions. Here, we explored the functional role of the Bacillus subtilis siderophore bacillibactin (BB) in an antagonistic interaction with Pseudomonas marginalis. The presence of BB strongly inf luenced the outcome of the interaction in an iron-dependent manner. The BB producer B. subtilis restricts colony spreading of P. marginalis by repressing the transcription of histidine kinase-encoding gene gacS, thereby abolishing production of secondary metabolites such as pyoverdine and viscosin. By contrast, lack of BB restricted B. subtilis colony growth. To explore the specificity of the antagonism, we cocultured B. subtilis with a collection of f luorescent Pseudomonas spp. and found that the Bacillus–Pseudomonas interaction is conserved, expanding our understanding of...Show moreSiderophores have long been implicated in sociomicrobiology as determinants of bacterial interrelations. For plant-associated genera, like Bacillus and Pseudomonas, siderophores are well known for their biocontrol functions. Here, we explored the functional role of the Bacillus subtilis siderophore bacillibactin (BB) in an antagonistic interaction with Pseudomonas marginalis. The presence of BB strongly inf luenced the outcome of the interaction in an iron-dependent manner. The BB producer B. subtilis restricts colony spreading of P. marginalis by repressing the transcription of histidine kinase-encoding gene gacS, thereby abolishing production of secondary metabolites such as pyoverdine and viscosin. By contrast, lack of BB restricted B. subtilis colony growth. To explore the specificity of the antagonism, we cocultured B. subtilis with a collection of f luorescent Pseudomonas spp. and found that the Bacillus–Pseudomonas interaction is conserved, expanding our understanding of the interplay between two of the most well-studied genera of soil bacteria.Show less

All authors

Lyng, M.; Jørgensen, J.P.B.; Schostag, M.D.; Jarmusch, S.A.; Aguilar, D.K.C.; Lozano-Andrade, C.N.; Kovács, A.T.

Date

2024-01-13

Journal

The ISME Journal

Volume

18

Issue

1

DOI

doi:10.1093/ismejo/wrad001