The Background Akin To Veliparib

Lichen-associated bacteria were only recently shown to be highly diverse and omics approaches have indicated that they are functional contributors to robustness of the lichen holobiome (Grube et al., 2009, 2015). The intricate association of members of different organismal kingdoms in well-delimited and long-living symbiotic structures �C as symbiotic hotspots of terrestrial life �C highlights lichens as a veritable treasure chest for interorganismal communication, regulation, and bioactivity in general (Boustie and Grube, 2005; Boustie et al., 2011). Conditioned by the slow growth of many lichens and difficulties in culturing the symbionts, biotechnological exploitation of lichens was lagging behind other natural resources. With the advent of modern technologies, however, the secondary metabolism and antagonistic potentials in lichens receive new impulses, and this will particularly apply to culturable bacterial partners. Although, lichens are equipped with various secondary compounds with antagonistic effects (Oksanen, 2006; Lawrey, 2009; Boustie et al., 2011), we Fulvestrant datasheet hypothesize that only a diverse protective microbiome can efficiently maintain stability over longer periods to prevent pathogen attacks. The objective of this study was to analyze the antagonistic potential of the lichen microbiome against model pathogens by a novel approach bridging metagenomic with culture techniques. Model pathogens associated with human, lichen and plant diseases were accessed to screen for a broad spectrum of antagonistic activity. Furthermore, we utilized the lung lichen Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm., which is one of the fastest growing leaf-like lichens (MacDonald and Coxson, 2013) and used as indicator species of undisturbed forests and air pollution (Rose, 1976; Scheidegger, 1995). We also characterized the most active as well as the most abundant lichen-associated antagonists Stenotrophomonas, which were already identified as versatile antagonists from plant origin (Ryan et al., 2009; Alavi et al., 2014; Berg and Martinez, 2015). Beneficial Stenotrophomonas strains produced osmoprotectans and spermidine in response to eukaryotic hosts (Alavi et al., 2013). In our study we applied multidisciplinary techniques to link metagenomic data with those obtained from bacterial cultures. Moreover, we could show that lichens are important reservoirs for antagonistic bacteria, which can also be used for biological control approaches to protect plants against biotic and abiotic stress. Materials and Methods Sampling Strategy and Isolation of Lichen-Associated Bacteria Lichen thalli of L. pulmonaria were sampled from three different locations in Austria (Tamischbachgraben, N47��32��40���, E14��37��35���, Johnsbach, N47��38��07���, E14��44��45���, and St.