Isolation and Characterization of New Phenazine Metabolites with Antifungal Activity against Root-Rot Pathogens of Panax notoginseng from Streptomyces

Recent Advances in Phenazine Natural Products: Chemical Structures and Biological Activities

Phenazine natural products are a class of colored nitrogen-containing heterocycles produced by various microorganisms mainly originating from marine and terrestrial sources. The tricyclic ring molecules show various chemical structures and the decorating groups dedicate extensive pharmacological activities, including antimicrobial, anticancer, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory, and insecticidal. These secondary metabolites provide natural materials for screening and developing medicinal compounds in the field of medicine and agriculture due to biological activities. The review presents a systematic summary of the literature on natural phenazines in the past decade, including over 150 compounds, such as hydroxylated, O-methylated, N-methylated, N-oxide, terpenoid, halogenated, glycosylated phenazines, saphenic acid derivatives, and other phenazine derivatives, along with their characterized antimicrobial and anticancer activities. This review may provide guidance for the investigation of phenazines in the future.

Characterization of Lomofungin Gene Cluster Enables the Biosynthesis of Related Phenazine Derivatives

Phenazine-based small molecules are nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds with diverse bioactivities and electron transfer properties that exhibit promising applications in pharmaceutical and electrochemical industries. However, the biosynthetic mechanism of highly substituted natural phenazines remains poorly understood. In this study, we report the direct cloning and heterologous expression of the lomofungin biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) from Streptomyces lomondensis S015. Reconstruction and overexpression of the BGCs in Streptomyces coelicolor M1152 resulted in eight phenazine derivatives including two novel hybrid phenazine metabolites, and the biosynthetic pathway of lomofungin was proposed. Furthermore, gene deletion suggested that NAD(P)H-dependent oxidoreductase gene lomo14 is a nonessential gene in the biosynthesis of lomofungin. Cytotoxicity evaluation of the isolated phenazines and lomofungin was performed. Specifically, lomofungin shows substantial inhibition against two human cancer cells, HCT116 and 5637. These results provide insights into the biosynthetic mechanism of lomofungin, which will be useful for the directed biosynthesis of natural phenazine derivatives.

Study on the inhibitory activity and mechanism of Mentha haplocalyx essential oil nanoemulsion against Fusarium oxysporum growth

Mentha haplocalyx essential oil (MEO) has demonstrated inhibitory effects on Fusarium oxysporum. Despite its environmentally friendly properties as a natural product, the limited water solubility of MEO restricts its practical application in the field. The use of nanoemulsion can improve bioavailability and provide an eco-friendly approach to prevent and control Panax notoginseng root rot. In this study, Tween 80 and anhydrous ethanol (at a mass ratio of 3) were selected as carriers, and the ultrasonic method was utilized to produce a nanoemulsion of MEO (MNEO) with an average particle size of 26.07 nm. Compared to MTEO (MEO dissolved in an aqueous solution of 2% DMSO and 0.1% Tween 80), MNEO exhibited superior inhibition against F. oxysporum in terms of spore germination and hyphal growth. Transcriptomics and metabolomics results revealed that after MNEO treatment, the expression levels of certain genes related to glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, starch and sucrose metabolism were significantly suppressed along with the accumulation of metabolites, leading to energy metabolism disorder and growth stagnation in F. oxysporum. In contrast, the inhibitory effect from MTEO treatment was less pronounced. Furthermore, MNEO also demonstrated inhibition on meiosis, ribosome function, and ribosome biogenesis in F. oxysporum growth process. These findings suggest that MNEO possesses enhanced stability and antifungal activity, which effectively hinders F. oxysporum through inducing energy metabolism disorder, meiotic stagnation, as well as ribosome dysfunction, thus indicating its potential for development as a green pesticide for prevention and control P. notoginseng root rot caused by F.oxyosporum.

Electrochemical Oxidative (4 + 2) Cyclization of Anilines and o-Phenylenediamines for the Synthesis of Phenazines

Phenazines, crucial constituents of nitrogen-containing heterocycles, widely exist in functional compounds. Herein, we report an anodic oxidative (4 + 2) cyclization between anilines and o-phenylenediamines for the uniform construction of phenazines in a simple undivided cell. Dual C-H amination followed by oxidation represents an outstanding step and atom efficiency. A sequence of phenazines is produced with excellent functional group tolerance at room temperature.

Isolation and Evaluation of Streptomyces melanogenes YBS22 with Potential Application for Biocontrol of Rice Blast Disease

Plant diseases caused by pathogenic fungi pose a significant threat to agricultural production. This study reports on a strain YBS22 with broad-spectrum antifungal activity that was isolated and identified, and its active metabolites were purified and systematically studied. Based on a whole genome sequence analysis, the new strain YBS22 was identified as Streptomyces melanogenes. Furthermore, eight gene clusters were predicted in YBS22 that are responsible for the synthesis of bioactive secondary metabolites. These clusters have homologous sequences in the MIBiG database with a similarity of 100%. The antifungal effects of YBS22 and its crude extract were evaluated in vivo and vitro. Our findings revealed that treatment with the strain YBS22 and its crude extract significantly reduced the size of necrotic lesions caused by Magnaporthe oryzae on rice leaves. Further analysis led to the isolation and purification of an active compound from the crude extract of the strain YBS22, identified as N-formylantimycin acid methyl ester, an analog of antimycin, characterized by NMR and MS analyses. Consistently, the active compound can significantly inhibit the germination and development of M. oryzae spores in a manner that is both dose- and time-dependent. As a result, we propose that the strain YBS22 could serve as a novel source for the development of biological agents aimed at controlling rice blast disease.

Panax notoginseng-microbiota interactions: From plant cultivation to medicinal application

BACKGROUND

Microbiomes and their host plants are closely linked with each other; for example, the microbiome affects plant growth, fitness, nutrient uptake, stress tolerance and pathogen resistance, whereas the host plant supports the photosynthetically carbon-rich nutrition of the microbiome. The importance of the microbiome in plant‒soil ecosystems is unquestioned and has expanded to influence the medicinal application of some herbal plants via the gut microbiota.

PURPOSE

Herbal plant-microbiome interactions may provide novel knowledge to enhance the robustness of herbal plant crop performance and medicinal applications, which requires a systematic review and preceding discussion.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

The interactions between Panax notoginseng and microorganisms (from soil to host) were reviewed from the literature. The terms "Panax notoginseng" and "microbiota" were used in combination with the keywords "microbiota/microbes", "bacteria/bacterium" or "fungi/fungus" or "endophyte", as well as our targeted bioactive phytochemicals, including saponins and ginsenosides.

RESULT

Our study focuses on the famous medicinal herb Panax notoginseng F. H. Chen and proposes that the microbiota is a crucial participant not only in the cultivation of this herbal plant but also in its medicinal application. We also summarize and discuss how these plant‒microbe co-associations shape the assembly of plant-related microbiomes and produce bioactive phytochemicals, as well as influence beneficial herbal traits, such as herbal plant health and pharmacology. In addition, we also highlight future directions.

CONCLUSION

The rhizosphere and endophytic microbiome of Panax notoginseng are indirectly or directly involved in plant health, biomass production, and the synthesis/biotransformation of plant secondary metabolites. Harnessing the microbiome to improve the quality of traditional Chinese medicine and improve the value of medicinal plants for human health is highly promising.

Metabolic Degradation and Bioactive Derivative Synthesis of Phenazine-1-Carboxylic Acid by Genetically Engineered Pseudomonas chlororaphis HT66

Phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA) secreted by Pseudomonas chlororaphis has been commercialized and widely employed as an antifungal pesticide. However, it displays potential hazards to nontarget microorganisms and the environment. Although the PCA degradation characteristics have received extensive attention, the biodegradation efficiency is still insufficient to address the environmental risks. In this study, an engineered Pseudomonas capable of degrading PCA was constructed by introducing heterologous PCA 1,2-dioxygenase (PcaA1A2A3A4). By integrating the PCA degradation module in the chemical mutagenesis mutant P3, 7.94 g/L PCA can be degraded in 60 h, which exhibited the highest PCA degradation efficiency to date and was 35.4-fold higher than that of the PCA natural degraders. Additionally, PCA was converted to 1-methoxyphenazine through structure modification by introducing the functional enzymes PhzS_Pa and PhzM_La, which has good antifungal activity and environmental compatibility. This work demonstrates new possibilities for developing PCA-derived biopesticides and enables targeted control of the impact of PCA in diverse environments.

Investigating the plant growth promoting and biocontrol potentiality of endophytic Streptomyces SP. SP5 against early blight in Solanum lycopersicum seedlings

BACKGROUND

Early blight (EB), caused by Alternaria solani, is one of the alarming diseases that restrict tomato production globally. Existing cultural practices and fungicide applications are not enough to control early blight diseases. Therefore, the study aimed to isolate, identify, and characterize an endophytic Streptomyces exhibiting the potential to control early blight in tomato and also promote plant growth.

RESULTS

From a Citrus jambhiri leaf, an endophytic Streptomyces sp. with antagonistic activity against Alternaria solani, Colletotrichum acutatum, Cladosporium herbarum, Alternaria brassicicola, Alternaria sp., Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium sp. was isolated. It was identified as a Streptomyces sp. through 16S ribosomal DNA sequence analysis and designated as SP5. It also produced indole acetic acid which was confirmed by Salkowski reagent assay, TLC and HPLC analysis. Treatment of pathogen infected plants with Streptomyces sp. SP5 antagonists (culture cells/culture supernatant/solvent extract/ acetone precipitates) decreased the early blight disease incidence and significantly increased the various agronomic traits.

CONCLUSION

The present study concluded that Streptomyces sp. SP5 possessed antifungal activity against different fungal phytopathogens and had significant potential to control early blight disease and promote plant growth.

Characterization of the diastaphenazine/izumiphenazine C biosynthetic gene cluster from plant endophyte Streptomyces diastaticus W2

Two phenazine compounds, diastaphenazine and izumiphenazine C, with complex structures and promising antitumour activity have been isolated from the plant endophytic actinomycete Streptomyces diastaticus W2. Their putative biosynthetic gene cluster (dap) was identified by heterologous expression and gene knockout. There are twenty genes in the dap cluster. dap14-19 related to shikimic pathway were potentially involved in the precursor chorismic acid biosynthesis, and dapBCDEFG were confirmed to be responsible for the biosynthesis of the dibenzopyrazine ring, the nuclear structure of phenazines. Two transcriptional regulatory genes dapR and dap4 played the positive regulatory roles on the phenazine biosynthetic pathway. Most notably, the dimerization of the dibenzopyrazine ring in diastaphenazine and the loading of the complex side chain in izumiphenazine C could be catalysed by the cyclase homologous gene dap5, suggesting an unusual modification strategy tailoring complex phenazine biosynthesis. Moreover, metabolite analysis of the gene deletion mutant strain S. albus::23C5Δdap2 and substrate assay of the methyltransferase Dap2 clearly revealed the biosynthetic route of the complex side chain in izumiphenazine C.

Purification and characterization of anti-phytopathogenic fungi angucyclinone from soil-derived Streptomyces cellulosae

Actinomycete strain YIM PH20352, isolated from the rhizosphere soil sample of Panax notoginseng collected in WenShang, Yunnan Province, China, exhibited antifungal activity against some phytopathogenic fungi. The structures of bioactive molecules, isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the fermentation broth of the strain, were identified as rabelomycin (1) and dehydrorabelomycin (2) based on extensive spectroscopic analyses. Compound 1 exhibited antifungal activity against four tested root-rot pathogens of the Panax notoginseng including Plectosphaerella cucumerina, Alternaria panax, Fusarium oxysporum, and Fusarium solani with the MIC values at 32, 64, 128, and 128 μg/mL, respectively. Compound 2 exhibited antifungal activity against F. oxysporum, P. cucumerina, F. solani, and A. panax with the MIC values at 64, 64, 128, and 128 μg/mL, respectively. Based on the phylogenetic analyses, the closest phylogenetic relative of strain YIM PH20352 is Streptomyces cellulosae NBRC 13027 ^T (AB184265) (99.88%), so strain YIM PH20352 was identified as Streptomyces cellulosae. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of rabelomycin and rabelomycin-type antibiotics from Streptomyces cellulosae and their antifungal activity against root-rot pathogens of the Panax notoginseng.

Novel pectin-like polysaccharide from Panax notoginseng attenuates renal tubular cells fibrogenesis induced by TGF-β

Renal fibrosis is the final common result of a variety of progressive injuries leading to chronic renal failure. However, there are no effective clinical available drugs for the treatment. Notoginsenoside from Panax notoginseng could ameliorate renal fibrosis. We hypothesized that polysaccharide from this herb might have similar bioactivity. Here, we elucidated structure of a novel pectin-like polysaccharide designed SQD4S2 with a netty antenna backbone of glucogalacturonan substituted by glucoarabinan, glucurogalactan and galactose residues from this herb. Interestingly, SQD4S2 could reverse the morphological changes of human renal tubular HK-2 cells induced by TGF-β. Mechanism study suggested that this bioactivity might associate with N-cadherin (CDH2), Snail (SNAI1), Slug (SNAI2) depression and E-cadherin (CDH1) enhancement. In addition, SQD4S2 could impede critical fibrogenesis associated molecules such as α-SMA, fibronectin, vimentin, COL1A1, COL3A1, FN1 and ACTA2 expression induced by TGF-β in HK-2 cells. Current findings outline a novel leading polysaccharide for against renal fibrosis new drug development.

Isolation and Evaluation of Rhizosphere Actinomycetes With Potential Application for Biocontrolling Fusarium Wilt of Banana Caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4

Fusarium wilt of banana caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (TR4) is globally one of the most destructive soil-borne fungal diseases. Biological control using environmental microorganisms is considered as an alternative and sustainable strategy. Actinomycetes have the potential to explore biocontrol agents due to their production of diverse metabolites. The isolation and identification of high-efficiency and broad-spectrum antagonistic actinomycetes are the key for the application of biocontrol agents. In the present study, 60 actinomycetes were obtained from the rhizosphere soil of Machilus pingii in the primitive ecological natural reserve of Hainan province, China. Seventeen isolates and their extracts exhibited significant antifungal activity against F. oxysporum TR4. Particularly, strain BITDG-11 with the strongest inhibition ability had a broad-spectrum antifungal activity. The assay of its physiological and biochemical profiles showed that strain BITDG-11 had the ability to produce IAA and siderophores and had a positive response to gelatin liquefaction and nitrate reduction. Enzyme activities of chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase, lipase, and urease were also detected. Average nucleotide identity calculated by comparison with the standard strain genome of Streptomyces albospinus JCM3399 was 86.55% below the novel species threshold, suggesting that the strain could be a novel species. In addition, Streptomyces BITDG-11 obviously reduced the disease index of banana plantlets and promoted plant growth at 45 days post inoculation. The higher and lasting expression levels of defense genes and activities of antioxidant enzymes were induced in the roots of banana. Genome sequencing revealed that the Streptomyces BITDG-11 chromosome contained large numbers of conserved biosynthesis gene clusters encoding terpenes, non-ribosomal peptides, polyketides, siderophores, and ectoines. Fifteen bioactive secondary metabolites were further identified from Streptomyces BITDG-11 extract by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Dibutyl phthalate demonstrating a strong antifungal activity was the major compound with the highest peak area. Hence, Streptomyces sp. BITDG-11 has a great potential to become an essential constituent of modern agricultural practice as biofertilizers and biocontrol agents.

Elicitation of Streptomyces lunalinharesii secondary metabolism through co-cultivation with Rhizoctonia solani

The concern regarding the emergence of phytopathogens strains which are resistant to conventional agrochemicals has given support to the search for alternatives on the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture. In this context, microorganisms are considered as promising sources of useful natural compounds and actinobacteria are particularly relevant since they are known to produce several bioactive metabolites. The objective of this work was to investigate the production of secondary metabolites with antifungal activity by a strain of the actinobacteria Streptomyces lunalinharesii (A54A) under axenic conditions and in co-cultivation with the phytopathogen Rhizoctonia solani. Tests to evaluate antifungal activity of the extracts indicated the presence of diffusable molecules capable of inhibiting the growth of R. solani produced by S. lunalinharesii, especially when in the presence of the fungus during fermentation. Metabolomic analyzes allowed the putative annotation of the bioactive compounds desferrioxamine E and anisomycin, in addition to the evaluation of the metabolic profile of the isolate when grown in axenic mode and in co-cultivation, while statistical analyzes enabled the comparison of such profiles and the identification of metabolites produced in greater relative quantities in the elicitation condition. Such methodologies provided the selection of unknown features with high bioactive potential for dereplication, and several metabolites of S. lunalinharesii possibly represent novel compounds.

Discovery of novel obovatol-based phenazine analogs as potential antifungal agents: synthesis and biological evaluation in vitro

To explore candidate fungicides from plant secondary metabolites, 16 novel obovatol-type phenazine derivatives were semi-synthesized from obovatol isolated from the leaves of Magnolia obovata Thunb. The antifungal activity of synthesized compounds was investigated in vitro against four phytopathogenic fungi using the spore germination method. The bioassay results showed that eight derivatives (8b, 8g, 8h–k, 8i′, and 8k′) exhibited better antifungal activity against Fusarium solani than two positive controls, especially compounds 8b (IC50 = 64.61 μg mL−1) and 8i′ (IC50 = 79.97 μg mL−1) showed pronounced inhibition of spore germination activity against F. solani. They could be used as lead compounds for further structural optimization. Additionally, the preliminary structure-activity relationships (SARs) illustrated that the introduction of a benzene ring monosubstituted with electron-withdrawing groups into the obovatol scaffold could lead to potentially antifungal compounds.

Myrothins A-F from Endophytic Fungus Myrothecium sp. BS-31 Harbored in Panax notoginseng

Endophytic fungi play important roles for host's stress tolerance including invasion by pathogenic microbes. Small molecules are common weapons in the microbe-microbe interactions. Panax notoginseng is a widely used traditional Chinese medicinal plant and harbors many endophytes, some exert functions against pathogens. Here, we report six new compounds named myrothins A-F (1-6) produced by Myrothecium sp. BS-31, an endophyte isolated from P. notoginseng, and their antifungal activities against pathogenic fungi causing host root-rot disease. Their structures were elucidated with analysis of spectroscopic data including 1D and 2D NMR, HR-ESI-MS. Myrothins B (2) and E (5) showed the weak activity against Fusarium oxysporum and Phoma herbarum, and myrothins F (6) showed weak activity against F. oxysporum.

Identification of a Novel Bioactive Phenazine Derivative and Regulation of phoP on Its Production in Streptomyces lomondensis S015

Natural phenazines are a class of multifunctional secondary metabolites of bacteria that play an important role in the biocontrol of plant pathogens. In this paper, a novel bioactive phenazine derivative was isolated from Streptomyces lomondensis S015 through silica gel chromatography and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The structure was identified as 1-carboxyl-6-formyl-4,7,9-trihydroxy-phenazine (CFTHP) by NMR spectroscopy in combination with ultraperformance liquid chromatography & mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). CFTHP could inhibit Pythium ultimum, Rhizoctonia solani, Septoria steviae, and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 16, 32, 16, and 16 μg/mL, respectively. A global regulatory gene phoP could positively regulate CFTHP biosynthesis since its production was 3.0-fold enhanced by phoP overexpression and inhibited by phoP deletion in Streptomyces lomondensis S015. These studies illustrated the potential of CFTHP as a promising biopesticide and provided a reference for phenazine production improvement.