N-hexanoyl-L-homoserine lactone, a mediator of bacterial quorum-sensing regulation, exhibits plant-dependent stability and may be inactivated by germinating Lotus corniculatus seedlings.

The half-life of N-hexanoyl-l-homoserine lactone (C6-HSL) was determined under various pH and temperature conditions, and in several plant environments. C6-HSL was sensitive to alkaline pH, a process that was also temperature-dependent. In addition, C6-HSL disappeared from plant environments, i.e. axenic monocot and dicot plants cultivated under gnotobiotic, hydroponic conditions, albeit with variable kinetics. The disappearance was rapid at the root system of legume plants such as clover or Lotus, and slow or non-existent at the root system of monocots such as wheat or corn. These variable kinetics were not dependent upon pH changes that may have affected the growth media of the plants. Furthermore, C6-HSL did not accumulate in the plant, and the plant did not produce inhibitors of the C6-HSL signal. HPLC analyses revealed that C6-HSL disappeared from the media, and hence, Lotus exhibited a natural C6-HSL inactivating ability. This ability was not specific for C6-HSL and allowed the degradation of other N-acyl-homoserine lactones such as 3-oxo-C6-HSL, 3-oxo-octanoyl-HSL and 3-oxo-decanoyl-HSL. Preliminary investigation revealed that the inactivating ability is temperature-dependant and possibly of enzymatic origin.

Novel bacteria degrading N-acylhomoserine lactones and their use as quenchers of quorum-sensing-regulated functions of plant-pathogenic bacteria.

Bacteria degrading the quorum-sensing (QS) signal molecule N-hexanoylhomoserine lactone were isolated from a tobacco rhizosphere. Twenty-five isolates degrading this homoserine lactone fell into six groups according to their genomic REP-PCR and rrs PCR-RFLP profiles. Representative strains from each group were identified as members of the genera Pseudomonas, Comamonas, Variovorax and Rhodococcus: all these isolates degraded N-acylhomoserine lactones other than the hexanoic acid derivative, albeit with different specificity and kinetics. One of these isolates, Rhodococcus erythropolis strain W2, was used to quench QS-regulated functions of other microbes. In vitro, W2 strongly interfered with violacein production by Chromobacterium violaceum, and transfer of pathogenicity in Agrobacterium tumefaciens. In planta, R. erythropolis W2 markedly reduced the pathogenicity of Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum in potato tubers. These series of results reveal the diversity of the QS-interfering bacteria in the rhizosphere and demonstrate the validity of targeting QS signal molecules to control pathogens with natural bacterial isolates.

Engineered rhizosphere: the trophic bias generated by opine-producing plants is independent of the opine type, the soil origin, and the plant species.

In a previous study, we demonstrated that transgenic Lotus plants producing opines (which are small amino acid and sugar conjugates) specifically favor growth of opine-degrading rhizobacteria. The opine-induced bias was repeated and demonstrated with another soil type and another plant species (Solanum nigrum). This phenomenon is therefore independent of both soil type and plant species.