Effectiveness of Augmentative Biological Control of Streptomyces griseorubens UAE2 Depends on 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylic Acid Deaminase Activity against Neoscytalidium dimidiatum

To manage stem canker disease on royal poinciana, actinobacterial isolates were used as biological control agents (BCAs) based on their strong in vitro inhibitory effects against Neoscytalidium dimidiatum. Streptomyces griseorubens UAE2 and Streptomyces wuyuanensis UAE1 had the ability to produce antifungal compounds and cell-wall-degrading enzymes (CWDEs). Only S. griseorubens, however, restored the activity of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase (ACCD). In vivo apple fruit bioassay showed that lesion development was successfully constrained by either isolates on fruits inoculated with N. dimidiatum. In our greenhouse and container nursery experiments, S. griseorubens showed almost complete suppression of disease symptoms. This was evident when the preventive treatment of S. griseorubens significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the numbers of conidia of N. dimidiatum and defoliated leaves of royal poinciana seedlings to lesser levels than when S. wuyuanensis was applied, but comparable to control treatments (no pathogen). The disease management of stem canker was also associated with significant (p < 0.05) decreases in ACC levels in royal poinciana stems when S. griseorubens was applied compared to the non-ACCD-producing S. wuyuanensis. This study is the first to report the superiority of antagonistic actinobacteria to enhance their effectiveness as BCAs not only for producing antifungal metabolites and CWDEs but also for secreting ACCD.

Bioactive Secondary Metabolites from Marine Streptomyces griseorubens f8: Isolation, Identification and Biological Activity Assay

Marine actinomycetes are a potential source of a wide variety of bioactive natural products. Herein, four cyclic dipeptides, namely, cyclo(L-Val-L-Pro) (compound 1), cyclo(L-Pro-L-Leu) (compound 2), cyclo(L-Pro-L-Tyr) (compound 3) and cyclo(L-Pro-L-Phe) (compound 5), and an N-acetyltyramine (compound 4) were first isolated and identified as products of the marine Streptomyces griseorubens f8. Compounds 3 and 5 exhibit antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella aerogenes and Proteus vulgaris. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella aerogenes and Proteus vulgaris are 160 µg/mL, 100 µg/mL, 120 µg/mL for the compound 3 and 180 µg/mL, 130 µg/mL 150 µg/mL for the compound 5, respectively. In addition, compounds 1, 2, 3 and 5 was first found to have the ability to inhibit the invasion and migration of A549 cells (lung cancer cells), which exhibited the potentiality for these compounds to be used as novel anticancer drugs. This study provides a novel production strain for compounds 1, 2, 3 and 5, and four potential promising anticancer agents.

The Screening of Potassium- and Phosphate-Solubilizing Actinobacteria and the Assessment of Their Ability to Promote Wheat Growth Parameters

Soil fertility and plant nutrition require an adequate management of essential macronutrients such as potassium (K) and phosphorus (P), which are mandatory for plant development. Bioleaching of K and P bearing minerals improves their chemical weathering and increases the performance of the biofertilization strategies. In this study, in vitro and greenhouse experiments were carried out to investigate P and K solubilization traits of nine Actinobacteria (P13, P14, P15, P16, P17, P18, BC3, BC10, and BC11) under fertilization with rock phosphate (RP). K and P solubilization were evaluated on Alexandrov and NBRIP media containing mica and six RP samples, respectively. The actinobacterial strains were able to solubilize K in Alexandrov medium supplemented with RP. However, when soluble P was used instead of RP, only four strains of Actinobacteria (Streptomyces alboviridis P18–Streptomyces griseorubens BC3–Streptomyces griseorubens BC10 and Nocardiopsis alba BC11) solubilized K. The solubilization values of K ranged from 2.6 to 41.45 mg/L while those of P varied from 0.1 to 32 mg/L. Moreover, all strains were able to produce IAA, siderophore, HCN, and ammonia and significantly improved the germination rate and the vigor index of wheat. The pot experiments revealed that four strains (Streptomyces alboviridis P18, Streptomyces griseorubens BC3, Streptomyces griseorubens BC10, and Nocardiopsis alba BC11) significantly improved the growth parameters of wheat, namely root length (1.75–23.84%), root volume (41.57–71.46%), root dry weight (46.89–162.41%), shoot length (8.92–23.56%), and shoot dry weight (2.56–65.68%) compared to the uninoculated control. These findings showed that Streptomyces griseorubens BC10 and Nocardiopsis alba BC11 are promising candidates for the implementation of efficient biofertilization strategies to improve soil fertility and plant yield under rock P and rock K fertilization.