Abstract
Corallococcus sp. strain EGB is a Gram-negative myxobacteria isolated from saline soil, and has considerable potential for the biocontrol of phytopathogenic fungi. However, the detailed mechanisms related to development and predatory behavior are unclear. To obtain a comprehensive overview of genetic features, the genome of strain EGB was sequenced, annotated, and compared with 10 other Corallococcus species. The strain EGB genome was assembled as a single circular chromosome of 9.4 Mb with 7916 coding genes. Phylogenomics analysis showed that strain EGB was most closely related to Corallococcus interemptor AB047A, and it was inferred to be a novel species within the Corallococcus genus. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that the pan-genome of Corallococcus genus was large and open. Only a small proportion of genes were specific to strain EGB, and most of them were annotated as hypothetical proteins. Subsequent analyses showed that strain EGB produced abundant extracellular enzymes such as chitinases and β-(1,3)-glucanases, and proteases to degrade the cell-wall components of phytopathogenic fungi. In addition, 35 biosynthetic gene clusters potentially coding for antimicrobial compounds were identified in the strain EGB, and the majority of them were present in the dispensable pan-genome with unexplored metabolites. Other genes related to secretion and regulation were also explored for strain EGB. This study opens new perspectives in the greater understanding of the predatory behavior of strain EGB, and facilitates a potential application in the biocontrol of fungal plant diseases in the future.
Highlights
Myxobacteria are a type of Gram-negative deltaproteobacteria that are distributed all over the world [1]
The genome size and gene number of strain EGB were slightly smaller than the majority of other Corallococcus genomes (Table 1)
The results showed that strain EGB exhibited high synteny with C. coralloides DSM 2259; a relatively poor synteny with significant rearrangements was clearly observed between the genomes of strain EGB and M. xanthus DK1622 (Figure 2B)
Summary
Myxobacteria are a type of Gram-negative deltaproteobacteria that are distributed all over the world [1]. Myxobacteria exhibit several complex social behaviors, and one distinct trait is that their cells move by swarming or gliding on surfaces for social communication [2]. Once nutrients are depleted, fruiting bodies are born naked, followed by differentiation into myxospores. Due to their complex lifecycle, Myxobacteria produce abundant proteins to participate in signal transduction pathways, so as to coordinate cell–cell communication and regulate social motility [3]. Myxobacteria can produce abundant secondary metabolites for potential applications as ecological weapons against living microorganisms [7]. Five genera have been described within myxobacteria, and Myxococcus and Corallococcus are the two dominant genera, which possess ten and twelve species as of 2020 [8]. Species within the Corallococcus genus are poorly studied
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