AUTHOR=Zhou Jin-Wei , Jia Ai-Qun , Tan Xiao-Juan , Chen Hong , Sun Bing , Huang Tian-Zi , He Yu , Li Pei-Li , Liu En-Qi 

TITLE=1-(4-Amino-2-Hydroxyphenyl)Ethenone Suppresses Agrobacterium tumefaciens Virulence and Metabolism

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.584767

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.584767

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>The impact of 1-(4-amino-2-hydroxyphenyl)ethanone (AHPE) from the metabolites of endophytic fungus <italic>Phomopsis liquidambari</italic> on quorum sensing (QS) of <italic>Agrobacterium tumefaciens</italic> was evaluated for the first time in this study. Exposure to AHPE at concentrations ranging from 12.5 to 50 μg/mL, the β-galactosidase activity, acyl-homoserine lactone level, swimming motility, chemotaxis, and flagella formation were significantly inhibited. qRT-PCR quantification combined with the docking analysis demonstrated that AHPE affected the QS system of <italic>A. tumefaciens</italic> by repressing the transcriptional levels of <italic>traI</italic> and <italic>traR</italic> rather than signal mimicry. <sup>1</sup>H NMR-based metabolic analysis indicated that the metabolism of <italic>A. tumefaciens</italic> was notably disturbed with AHPE treatment. AHPE treatment also resulted in the enhanced oxidative stress in <italic>A. tumefaciens</italic>. The enhanced oxidative stress lead to the disorder of energy supply, protein synthesis, and nucleotide metabolism, and ultimately attenuated the pathogenicity of <italic>A. tumefaciens</italic>. Our study indicated that AHPE can serve as a potential pesticide to defend against <italic>A. tumefaciens</italic>.</p>