Abstract
Spore awakening is a series of actions that starts with purely physical processes and continues via the launching of gene expression and metabolic activities, eventually achieving a vegetative phase of growth. In spore-forming microorganisms, the germination process is controlled by intra- and inter-species communication. However, in the Streptomyces clade, which is capable of developing a plethora of valuable compounds, the chemical signals produced during germination have not been systematically studied before. Our previously published data revealed that several secondary metabolite biosynthetic genes are expressed during germination. Therefore, we focus here on the secondary metabolite production during this developmental stage. Using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, we found that the sesquiterpenoid antibiotic albaflavenone, the polyketide germicidin A, and chalcone are produced during germination of the model streptomycete, S. coelicolor. Interestingly, the last two compounds revealed an inhibitory effect on the germination process. The secondary metabolites originating from the early stage of microbial growth may coordinate the development of the producer (quorum sensing) and/or play a role in competitive microflora repression (quorum quenching) in their nature environments.
Highlights
A large variety of compounds is produced by various microorganisms by means of specialized biosynthetic pathways
Genes that are expressed in the consecutive time points of germination have been reported by Strakova (Strakova et al, 2013). From their dataset we selected genes whose products are involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites by S. coelicolor, according to the StrepDB database, where the annotated S. coelicolor genes are categorized into metabolic groups
The secondary metabolites produced during the sporulation phase and those associated with the dormant spores were included in the analysis in order to state whether the compounds found in the samples from germlings were synthesized de novo
Summary
A large variety of compounds is produced by various microorganisms by means of specialized biosynthetic pathways. The special (or secondary) metabolites (Hopwood, 2007; Baltz, 2008; van Keulen and Dyson, 2014) are not essential for growth and reproduction, they often provide the producing organism with a bioactive role (Keller et al, 2005). Reaching further than a cell itself physically can, the small diffusible molecules may give an advantage to its producer by effectively adapting to extracellular conditions to some degree. They may provide defense (or attack), competition, signaling, or interspecies interactions, depending on the environmental cues, increasing the likelihood of survival in an inhospitable environment (Brachmann et al, 2013; Martinez et al, 2017). The bioactivity of the small molecules is mostly achieved by affecting transcription in receiving cells (Camilli and Bassler, 2006).
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