Paenibacillus polymyxa Associated with the Stingless Bee Melipona scutellaris Produces Antimicrobial Compounds against Entomopathogens

Author(s)

Menegatti, Carla ^[1] ; Da Paixao Melo, Weilan Gomes ^[1] ; Carrao, Daniel Blascke ^[2] ; Moraes De Oliveira, Anderson Rodrigo ^[2] ; Do Nascimento, Fabio Santos ^[3] ; Lopes, Norberto Peporine ^[4] ; Pupo, Monica Tallarico ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Ciencias Farmaceut, Fac Ciencias Farmaceut Ribeirao Preto, Ave Cafe S-N, BR-14040903 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Filosofia Ciencias & Letras Ribeirao Preto, Dept Quim, Ave Bandeirantes 3900, BR-14040901 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Biol, Fac Filosofia Ciencias & Letras Ribeirao Pret, Ave Bandeirantes 3900, BR-14040901 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Ciencias Farmaceut Ribeirao Preto, Nucleo Pesquisas Prod Nat & Sintet, Ave Cafe S-N, BR-14040903 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Journal of Chemical Ecology; v. 44, n. 12, p. 1158-1169, DEC 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 3

Abstract

Social insects are frequently observed in symbiotic association with bacteria that produce antimicrobial natural products as a defense mechanism. There is a lack of studies on the microbiota associated with stingless bees and their antimicrobial compounds. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to report the isolation of Paenibacillus polymyxa ALLI-03-01 from the larval food of the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris. The bacterial strain was cultured under different conditions and produced (L)-(-)-3-phenyllactic acid and fusaricidins, which were active against entomopathogenic fungi and Paenibacillus larvae. Our results indicate that such natural products could be related to colony protection, suggesting a defense symbiosis between P. polymyxa ALLI-03-01 and Melipona scutellaris. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 09/54098-6 - Acquisition of a mass spectrometer for the generation of images at the Mass Spectrometry Center of the University of São Paulo Ribeirão Preto School of Pharmaceutical Sciences: studies of molecular localization of biologically active substances
• Grantee: Norberto Peporine Lopes
• Support type: Multi-user Equipment Program
• FAPESP's process: 15/01001-6 - Discovering bacterial symbionts diversity associated with ants in different Brazilian biomes
• Grantee: Weilan Gomes da Paixão Melo
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 14/17620-4 - Bacterial symbionts associated with stingless bee Melipona scutellaris as sources of bioactive natural products
• Grantee: Carla Menegatti
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• FAPESP's process: 13/50954-0 - Novel therapeutic agents from the bacterial symbionts of Brazilian invertebrates
• Grantee: Mônica Tallarico Pupo
• Support type: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 14/50265-3 - Distribution and metabolism of natural and synthetic xenobiotics: from the comprehension of reactional process to tissue imaging generation
• Grantee: Norberto Peporine Lopes
• Support type: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants