Abstract
The bacteria of the genus Streptomyces and Basidiomycete fungi harbor many biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) that are at the origin of many bioactive molecules with medical or industrial interests. Nevertheless, most BGCs do not express in standard lab growth conditions, preventing the full metabolic potential of these organisms from being exploited. Because it generates biotic cues encountered during natural growth conditions, co-culture is a means to elicit such cryptic compounds. In this study, we explored 72 different Streptomyces-fungus interaction zones (SFIZs) generated during the co-culture of eight Streptomyces and nine fungi. Two SFIZs were selected because they showed an elicitation of anti-bacterial activity compared to mono-cultures. The study of these SFIZs showed that co-culture had a strong impact on the metabolic expression of each partner and enabled the expression of specific compounds. These results show that mimicking the biotic interactions present in this ecological niche is a promising avenue of research to explore the metabolic capacities of Streptomyces and fungi.
Highlights
Microorganisms form complex multispecies communities in all environments where they play key roles
The bacterial collection was made up of eight Streptomyces isolated from the same forest soil micro-habitats and belonging to identical or different species as previously described by Nicault et al [8]
Bacterial and fungal couples were grown on agar plates at each side of the petri dishes (Figure 1A) generating a Streptomyces-fungus interaction zone (SFIZ)
Summary
Microorganisms form complex multispecies communities in all environments (e.g., soil, oceans, microbiota) where they play key roles. Bacteria and fungi of a same community are in constant interaction (commensalism, mutualism, competition or antagonism) that can affect their growth or induce more specific behaviors, such as pathogenicity [3]. These bacterial-fungal interactions (BFIs) are often driven by the production of specialized metabolites (SMs). The latter can have a direct impact (e.g., antibiosis, sugar degradation) but can act as communication signals and trigger expression of other specific biosynthetic pathways in other niche inhabitants [4].
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