Due to their capacity to produce antimicrobial peptides that can prevent the growth of diseases, many
Bacillus spp. are beneficial to plants. In this study, we looked into the antagonistic activity of the
B. pumilus 3-19 strain and its derivatives following targeted genome
[...] Read more.
Due to their capacity to produce antimicrobial peptides that can prevent the growth of diseases, many
Bacillus spp. are beneficial to plants. In this study, we looked into the antagonistic activity of the
B. pumilus 3-19 strain and its derivatives following targeted genome editing. Two peptide genes with antibacterial action, bacilysin (
bac) and bacteriocin (
bact), and the
sigF gene, which encodes the sigma factor of sporulation, were specifically inactivated using the CRISPR-Cas9 system in the genome of
B. pumilus 3-19. Antibacterial activity against
B. cereus and
Pantoea brenneri decreased as a result of the inactivation of target genes in the
B. pumilus 3-19 genome, with a noticeable effect against bacilysin. The growth dynamics of the culture changed when the
bac,
bact, and
sigF genes were inactivated, and the altered strains had less proteolytic activity. An asporogenic mutant of
B. pumilus 3-19 was obtained by inactivating the
sigF gene. It has been proven that bacilysin plays a unique part in the development of
B. pumilus 3-19’s antagonistic action against soil microorganisms.
Full article
