Antifungal iturinic lipopeptide diversity and evolution in the Bacillus subtilis group

Authors: Dunlap, Christopher

Submitted to: Plant Pathogenic Bacteria International Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/18/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Iturinic lipopeptides, a class of antifungal bioactive compounds, are key bioactive molecules in bacterial strains in the Bacillus subtilis group. The compounds that comprise this family of lipopeptides are: iturin, bacillomycin D, bacillomycin F, bacillomycin L, mycosubtilin and mojavensin. These lipopeptides are prominent in many Bacillus spp. strains that have been commercialized as biological control agents against fungal plant pathogens and as plant growth promoters. The compounds are cyclic heptapeptides with a variable length alkyl sidechain, which confers surface activity properties resulting in an affinity for fungal membranes. This study identified 330 iturinic lipopeptide clusters in publicly available genomes from the Bacillus subtilis species group. The clusters were subsequently assigned into distinguishable types based on their unique amino acid sequences. The results show that some lipopeptides are only produced by one bacterial species, while others can be produced by up to three bacterial species. In addition, we confirmed the ability to produce iturinic lipopetides in four Bacillus species not previously known to have this ability. These findings suggest that iturinic lipopetides likely play an important role in speciation and evolution of species in the B. subtilis group.