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Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter Publication Acceptance Date: 8/20/2014 Publication Date: 10/29/2014 Citation: Dunlap, C.A., Bowman, M.J. 2014. The use of genomics and chemistry to screen for secondary metabolites in bacillus spp. biocontrol organisms. In: Gross, A.D., Coats, J.R., Duke, S.O., Seiber, J.N., editors. Biopesticides: State of the Art and Future Opportunities. Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society. p. 95-112. Interpretive Summary: New DNA sequencing technologies have revolutionized how we analyze agriculturally import microbes. These technologies can be applied to study how beneficial microbes control plant pests or pathogens. This book chapter provides a state of the art summary of the current tools and approaches used to study a common class of biocontrol microbes. This work provides pest control scientists an easy reference to adopt the latest technology for solving problems with agricultural pests. Technical Abstract: Recent advances in DNA sequencing technologies have revolutionized the way we study bacterial biological control strains. These advances have provided the ability to rapidily characterize the secondary metabolite potential of these bacterial strains. A variety of bioinformatics tools have been developed to analyze sequence data, which can identify putative secondary metabolite synthetase clusters. The functionality of these clusters can then be confirmed with modern mass spectrometry techniques. The Bacillus biological control community is rapidly adapting these approaches to understand the bioactive compounds produced by these strains. This chapter summarizes the current state of the field as it applies to the Bacillus biological strains primarily focused on controlling plant diseases or are plant growth promoters, which include: B. subtilis, B. amyloliquefaciens, B. pumilus and B. licheniformis strains. |
