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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 1998, p. 3939-3947, Vol. 64, No. 10
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Characterization of Genes Involved in Biosynthesis of a Novel Antibiotic from Burkholderia cepacia BC11 and Their Role in Biological Control of Rhizoctonia solani

Yaowei Kang,1 Russell Carlson,2 Wendy Tharpe,1 and Mark A. Schell1,3,*

Department of Microbiology,1 Department of Plant Pathology,3 and Complex Carbohydrate Research Center,2 University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602

Received 26 March 1998/Accepted 29 May 1998

Genetic manipulation of fluorescent pseudomonads has provided major insight into their production of antifungal molecules and their role in biological control of plant disease. Burkholderia cepacia also produces antifungal activities, but its biological control activity is much less well characterized, in part due to difficulties in applying genetic tools. Here we report genetic and biochemical characterization of a soil isolate of B. cepacia relating to its production of an unusual antibiotic that is very active against a variety of soil fungi. Purification and preliminary structural analyses suggest that this antibiotic (called AFC-BC11) is a novel lipopeptide associated largely with the cell membrane. Analysis of conditions for optimal production of AFC-BC11 indicated stringent environmental regulation of its synthesis. Furthermore, we show that production of AFC-BC11 is largely responsible for the ability of B. cepacia BC11 to effectively control the damping-off of cotton caused by the fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani in a gnotobiotic system. Using Tn5 mutagenesis, we identified, cloned, and characterized a region of the genome of strain BC11 that is required for production of this antifungal metabolite. DNA sequence analysis suggested that this region encodes proteins directly involved in the production of a nonribosomally synthesized lipopeptide.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, Biological Sciences Bldg., University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602; Phone: (706) 542-0512. Fax: (706) 542-2674. E-mail: Schell{at}arches.uga.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 1998, p. 3939-3947, Vol. 64, No. 10
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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