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Hartmann A, Binder T, Rothballer M. Quorum sensing-related activities of beneficial and pathogenic bacteria have important implications for plant and human health. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2024; 100:fiae076. [PMID: 38744663 PMCID: PMC11149725 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiae076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Revised: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Eukaryotic organisms coevolved with microbes from the environment forming holobiotic meta-genomic units. Members of host-associated microbiomes have commensalic, beneficial/symbiotic, or pathogenic phenotypes. More than 100 years ago, Lorenz Hiltner, pioneer of soil microbiology, introduced the term 'Rhizosphere' to characterize the observation that a high density of saprophytic, beneficial, and pathogenic microbes are attracted by root exudates. The balance between these types of microbes decide about the health of the host. Nowadays we know, that for the interaction of microbes with all eukaryotic hosts similar principles and processes of cooperative and competitive functions are in action. Small diffusible molecules like (phyto)hormones, volatiles and quorum sensing signals are examples for mediators of interspecies and cross-kingdom interactions. Quorum sensing of bacteria is mediated by different autoinducible metabolites in a density-dependent manner. In this perspective publication, the role of QS-related activities for the health of hosts will be discussed focussing mostly on N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHL). It is also considered that in some cases very close phylogenetic relations exist between plant beneficial and opportunistic human pathogenic bacteria. Based on a genome and system-targeted new understanding, sociomicrobiological solutions are possible for the biocontrol of diseases and the health improvement of eukaryotic hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton Hartmann
- Faculty of Biology, Microbe-Host Interactions, Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich, Grosshaderner Str. 2, D-82152 Planegg/Martinsried, Germany
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Health and Environment, Research Unit Microbe-Plant Interactions, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, D-85762 Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Tatiana Binder
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Health and Environment, Research Unit Microbe-Plant Interactions, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, D-85762 Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Michael Rothballer
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Health and Environment, Research Unit Microbe-Plant Interactions, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, D-85762 Neuherberg, Germany
- Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Health and Environment, Institute of Network Biology, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1 D-85762 Neuherberg, Germany
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2
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Yasuda M, Yamamoto T, Nagakubo T, Morinaga K, Obana N, Nomura N, Toyofuku M. Phage Genes Induce Quorum Sensing Signal Release through Membrane Vesicle Formation. Microbes Environ 2022; 37. [PMID: 35082176 PMCID: PMC8958291 DOI: 10.1264/jsme2.me21067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Membrane vesicles (MVs) released from the bacterium Paracoccus denitrificans Pd1222 are enriched with the quorum sensing (QS) signaling molecule N-hexadecanoyl-l-homoserine lactone (C16-HSL). However, the biogenesis of MVs in Pd1222 remains unclear. Investigations on MV formation are crucial for obtaining a more detailed understanding of the dynamics of MV-assisted signaling. In the present study, live-cell imaging showed that P. denitrificans Pd1222 produced MVs through cell lysis under DNA-damaging conditions. DNA sequencing of MVs and a transcriptome ana-lysis of cells indicated that the expression of a prophage region was up-regulated at the onset of MV formation under DNA-damaging conditions. A further sequence ana-lysis identified a putative endolysin (Pden_0381) and holin (Pden_0382) in the prophage region. The expression of these genes was regulated by RecA. Using gene knockout mutants, we showed that prophage-encoded endolysin was critical for MV formation by P. denitrificans Pd1222 under DNA-damaging conditions. MV triggering by endolysin was dependent on the putative holin, which presumably transported endolysin to the periplasmic space. C16-HSL quantification revealed that more signals were released into the milieu as a consequence of the effects of endolysin. Using a QS reporter strain, we found that the QS response in P. denitrificans was stimulated by inducing the expression of endolysin. Collectively, these results provide novel insights into the mechanisms by which a bacterial cell-to-cell communication system is manipulated by phage genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Yasuda
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba
| | - Tatsuya Yamamoto
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba
| | - Toshiki Nagakubo
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba
| | - Kana Morinaga
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba
| | - Nozomu Obana
- Transborder Medical Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba.,Microbiology Research Center for Sustainability, University of Tsukuba
| | - Nobuhiko Nomura
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba.,Microbiology Research Center for Sustainability, University of Tsukuba
| | - Masanori Toyofuku
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba.,Microbiology Research Center for Sustainability, University of Tsukuba.,Suntory Rising Stars Encouragement Program in Life Sciences (SunRiSE)
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3
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Importance of N-Acyl-Homoserine Lactone-Based Quorum Sensing and Quorum Quenching in Pathogen Control and Plant Growth Promotion. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10121561. [PMID: 34959516 PMCID: PMC8706166 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10121561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The biological control of plant pathogens is linked to the composition and activity of the plant microbiome. Plant-associated microbiomes co-evolved with land plants, leading to plant holobionts with plant-beneficial microbes but also with plant pathogens. A diverse range of plant-beneficial microbes assists plants to reach their optimal development and growth under both abiotic and biotic stress conditions. Communication within the plant holobiont plays an important role, and besides plant hormonal interactions, quorum-sensing signalling of plant-associated microbes plays a central role. Quorum-sensing (QS) autoinducers, such as N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHL) of Gram-negative bacteria, cause a pronounced interkingdom signalling effect on plants, provoking priming processes of pathogen defence and insect pest control. However, plant pathogenic bacteria also use QS signalling to optimise their virulence; these QS activities can be controlled by quorum quenching (QQ) and quorum-sensing inhibition (QSI) approaches by accompanying microbes and also by plants. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) have also been shown to demonstrate QQ activity. In addition, some PGPB only harbour genes for AHL receptors, so-called luxR-solo genes, which can contribute to plant growth promotion and biological control. The presence of autoinducer solo receptors may reflect ongoing microevolution processes in microbe–plant interactions. Different aspects of QS systems in bacteria–plant interactions of plant-beneficial and pathogenic bacteria will be discussed, and practical applications of bacteria with AHL-producing or -quenching activity; QS signal molecules stimulating pathogen control and plant growth promotion will also be presented.
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4
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Peptide signaling without feedback in signal production operates as a true quorum sensing communication system in Bacillus subtilis. Commun Biol 2021; 4:58. [PMID: 33420264 PMCID: PMC7794433 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-01553-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacterial quorum sensing (QS) is based on signal molecules (SM), which increase in concentration with cell density. At critical SM concentration, a variety of adaptive genes sharply change their expression from basic level to maximum level. In general, this sharp transition, a hallmark of true QS, requires an SM dependent positive feedback loop, where SM enhances its own production. Some communication systems, like the peptide SM-based ComQXPA communication system of Bacillus subtilis, do not have this feedback loop and we do not understand how and if the sharp transition in gene expression is achieved. Based on experiments and mathematical modeling, we observed that the SM peptide ComX encodes the information about cell density, specific cell growth rate, and even oxygen concentration, which ensure power-law increase in SM production. This enables together with the cooperative response to SM (ComX) a sharp transition in gene expression level and this without the SM dependent feedback loop. Due to its ultra-sensitive nature, the ComQXPA can operate at SM concentrations that are 100-1000 times lower than typically found in other QS systems, thereby substantially reducing the total metabolic cost of otherwise expensive ComX peptide.
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Vesty EF, Whitbread AL, Needs S, Tanko W, Jones K, Halliday N, Ghaderiardakani F, Liu X, Cámara M, Coates JC. Cross-kingdom signalling regulates spore germination in the moss Physcomitrella patens. Sci Rep 2020; 10:2614. [PMID: 32054953 PMCID: PMC7018845 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-59467-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2019] [Accepted: 01/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Plants live in close association with microorganisms that can have beneficial or detrimental effects. The activity of bacteria in association with flowering plants has been extensively analysed. Bacteria use quorum-sensing as a way of monitoring their population density and interacting with their environment. A key group of quorum sensing molecules in Gram-negative bacteria are the N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs), which are known to affect the growth and development of both flowering plants, including crops, and marine algae. Thus, AHLs have potentially important roles in agriculture and aquaculture. Nothing is known about the effects of AHLs on the earliest-diverging land plants, thus the evolution of AHL-mediated bacterial-plant/algal interactions is unknown. In this paper, we show that AHLs can affect spore germination in a representative of the earliest plants on land, the Bryophyte moss Physcomitrella patens. Furthermore, we demonstrate that sporophytes of some wild isolates of Physcomitrella patens are associated with AHL-producing bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor F Vesty
- School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK.,University Centre Shrewsbury, Guildhall, Frankwell Quay, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK
| | - Amy L Whitbread
- School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK.,Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
| | - Sarah Needs
- School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK.,School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, Open University, Walton Hall, Kents Hill, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - Wesal Tanko
- School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
| | - Kirsty Jones
- School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
| | - Nigel Halliday
- National Biofilm Innovations Centre, University of Nottingham Biodiscovery Institute, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK
| | | | - Xiaoguang Liu
- National Biofilm Innovations Centre, University of Nottingham Biodiscovery Institute, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK.,Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
| | - Miguel Cámara
- National Biofilm Innovations Centre, University of Nottingham Biodiscovery Institute, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK.
| | - Juliet C Coates
- School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK.
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6
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Shamshuddin Z, Kirse C, Briesen H, Doble M. Mathematical modelling of AHL production in Exiguobacterium MPO strain. Biochem Eng J 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2018.06.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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7
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Logic of two antagonizing intra-species quorum sensing systems in bacteria. Biosystems 2018; 165:88-98. [PMID: 29407383 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2018.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2017] [Revised: 12/08/2017] [Accepted: 01/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Bacteria release signaling molecules into the surrounding environment and sense them when present in their proximity. Using this strategy, a cell estimates the number of neighbors in its surrounding. Upon sensing a critical number of individuals, bacteria coordinate a number of cellular processes. This density-dependent control of gene expression and physiology is called quorum sensing (QS). Quorum sensing controls a wide variety of functions in bacteria, including those related to motility, growth, virulence etc. Quorum sensing has been widely observed in bacteria while the individuals of the same species or different species compete and cooperate each other. Interestingly, many species possess more than one QS system (intra-species) and these QS systems interact each other to perform quorum sensing. Thus, several logical arrangements can be possible based on the interaction among intra-species QS systems - parallel, series, antagonizing, and agonizing. In this work, we perform simulations to understand the logic of interaction between two antagonizing intra-species QS systems. In such an interaction, one QS system gets fully expressed and the other only gets partially expressed. This is found to be dictated by the interplay between autoinducer's diffusivity and antagonizing strength. In addition, we speculate an important role of the intracellular regulators (eg. LuxR) in maintaining the uniform response among the individual cells from the different localities. We also expect the interplay between the autoinducer's diffusivity and distribution of cells in fine tuning the collective response. Interestingly, in a localized niche with a heterogeneous cell distribution, the cells are expected to perform a global quorum sensing via fully expressed QS system and a local quorum sensing via partially expressed QS system.
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8
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Detection of the Bacterial Quorum-Sensing Signaling Molecules N-Acyl-Homoserine Lactones (HSL) and N-Acyl-Homoserine (HS) with an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and via Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-MS). Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1673:61-72. [PMID: 29130164 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7309-5_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Quick and reliable quantitative methods requiring low amounts of sample volume are needed for the detection of N-acyl-homoserine lactones (HSL) and their degradation products N-acyl-homoserines (HS) in order to elucidate the occurrence and dynamics of these prevalent quorum-sensing molecules of Gram-negative bacteria in natural samples and laboratory model experiments. A combination of ELISA and UHPLC-MS is presented here which has proven to meet these requirements. Both methods can not only precisely detect and quantify HSLs but also their degradation products HS and thereby enable studying signaling dynamics in quorum sensing, which have been identified to play an essential role in bacterial communication.
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9
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Abstract
Mathematical models to study quorum sensing (QS) have become an important tool to explore all aspects of this type of bacterial communication. A wide spectrum of mathematical tools and methods such as dynamical systems, stochastics, and spatial models can be employed. In this chapter, we focus on giving an overview of models consisting of differential equations (DE), which can be used to describe changing quantities, for example, the dynamics of one or more signaling molecule in time and space, often in conjunction with bacterial growth dynamics. The chapter is divided into two sections: ordinary differential equations (ODE) and partial differential equations (PDE) models of QS. Rates of change are represented mathematically by derivatives, i.e., in terms of DE. ODE models allow describing changes in one independent variable, for example, time. PDE models can be used to follow changes in more than one independent variable, for example, time and space. Both types of models often consist of systems (i.e., more than one equation) of equations, such as equations for bacterial growth and autoinducer concentration dynamics. Almost from the onset, mathematical modeling of QS using differential equations has been an interdisciplinary endeavor and many of the works we revised here will be placed into their biological context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Pérez-Velázquez
- Mathematical Modeling of Biological Systems, Centre for Mathematical Science, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany. .,Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
| | - Burkhard A Hense
- Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
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10
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Membrane vesicle-mediated bacterial communication. ISME JOURNAL 2017; 11:1504-1509. [PMID: 28282039 PMCID: PMC5437348 DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2017.13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2016] [Revised: 01/11/2017] [Accepted: 01/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The classical quorum-sensing (QS) model is based on the assumption that diffusible signaling molecules accumulate in the culture medium until they reach a critical concentration upon which expression of target genes is triggered. Here we demonstrate that the hydrophobic signal N-hexadecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone, which is produced by Paracoccus sp., is released from cells by the aid of membrane vesicles (MVs). Packed into MVs, the signal is not only solubilized in an aqueous environment but is also delivered with varying propensities to different bacteria. We propose a novel MV-based mechanism for binary trafficking of hydrophobic signal molecules, which may be particularly relevant for bacteria that live in open aqueous environments.
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11
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An age-dependent model to analyse the evolutionary stability of bacterial quorum sensing. J Theor Biol 2016; 405:104-15. [PMID: 26796220 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.12.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2015] [Revised: 12/07/2015] [Accepted: 12/16/2015] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial communication is enabled through the collective release and sensing of signalling molecules in a process called quorum sensing. Cooperative processes can easily be destabilized by the appearance of cheaters, who contribute little or nothing at all to the production of common goods. This especially applies for planktonic cultures. In this study, we analyse the dynamics of bacterial quorum sensing and its evolutionary stability under two levels of cooperation, namely signal and enzyme production. The model accounts for mutation rates and switches between planktonic and biofilm state of growth. We present a mathematical approach to model these dynamics using age-dependent colony models. We explore the conditions under which cooperation is stable and find that spatial structuring can lead to long-term scenarios such as coexistence or bistability, depending on the non-linear combination of different parameters like death rates and production costs.
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Schikora A, Schenk ST, Hartmann A. Beneficial effects of bacteria-plant communication based on quorum sensing molecules of the N-acyl homoserine lactone group. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2016; 90:605-12. [PMID: 26898296 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-016-0457-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2015] [Accepted: 02/18/2016] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial quorum sensing (QS) mechanisms play a crucial role in the proper performance and ecological fitness of bacterial populations. Many key physiological processes are regulated in a QS-dependent manner by auto-inducers, like the N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) in numerous Gram-negative bacteria. In addition, also the interaction between bacteria and eukaryotic hosts can be regulated by AHLs. Those mechanisms gained much attention, because of the positive effects of different AHL molecules on plants. This positive impact ranges from growth promotion to induced resistance and is quite contrasting to the rather negative effects observed in the interactions between bacterial AHL molecules and animals. Only very recently, we began to understand the molecular mechanisms underpinning plant responses to AHL molecules. In this review, we gathered the latest information in this research field. The first part gives an overview of the bacterial aspects of quorum sensing. Later we focus on the impact of AHLs on plant growth and AHL-priming, as one of the most understood phenomena in respect to the inter-kingdom interactions based on AHL-quorum sensing molecules. Finally, we discuss the potential benefits of the understanding of bacteria-plant interaction for the future agricultural applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Schikora
- Julius Kühn-Institut, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants (JKI), Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics, Messeweg 11/12, 38104, Brunswick, Germany.
| | - Sebastian T Schenk
- Institute of Plant Sciences - Paris-Saclay, INRA/CNRS, 630 rue de Noetzlin, Plateau du Moulon, 91405, Orsay, France
| | - Anton Hartmann
- Research Unit Microbe-Plant Interactions, Department for Environmental Sciences, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstaedter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
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