IMR Press / FBL / Volume 29 / Issue 3 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2903111
Open Access Original Research
Antibacterial Properties of Bacterial Endophytes Isolated from the Medicinal Plant Origanum heracleoticum L.
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1 Department of Biology, University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
2 Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies-STEBICEF, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy
3 Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy
4 Department of Earth and Sea Science (DiSTeM), University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy
5 Council for Agricultural and Economics Research (CREA) – Agriculture and Environment, 50125 Florence, Italy
6 Consorzio Italbiotec, 20126 Milan, Italy
7 Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP)—National Research Council (CNR), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
8 Giardino delle Erbe Augusto Rinaldi Ceroni, 48032 Ravenna, Italy
*Correspondence: renato.fani@unifi.it (Renato Fani)
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2024, 29(3), 111; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2903111
Submitted: 18 December 2023 | Revised: 8 January 2024 | Accepted: 16 January 2024 | Published: 19 March 2024
Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: Bacterial endophytic communities associated with medicinal plants synthesize a plethora of bioactive compounds with biological activities. Their easy isolation and growth procedures make bacterial endophytes an untapped source of novel drugs, which might help to face the problem of antimicrobial resistance. This study investigates the antagonistic potential of endophytic bacteria isolated from different compartments of the medicinal plant O. heracleoticum against human opportunistic pathogens. Methods: A panel of endophytes was employed in cross-streaking tests against multidrug-resistant human pathogens, followed by high-resolution chemical profiling using headspace-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Results: Endophytic bacteria exhibited the ability to antagonize the growth of opportunistic pathogens belonging to the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc). The different inhibition patterns observed were related to their taxonomic attribution at the genus level; most active strains belong to the Gram-positive genera Bacillus, Arthrobacter, and Pseudarthrobacter. Bcc strains of clinical origin were more sensitive than environmental strains. Cross-streaking tests against other 36 human multidrug-resistant pathogens revealed the highest antimicrobial activity towards the Coagulase-negative staphylococci and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains. Interestingly, strains of human origin were the most inhibited, in both groups. Concerning the production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the strain Arthrobacter sp. OHL24 was the best producer of such compounds, while two Priestia strains were good ketones producers and so could be considered for further biotechnological applications. Conclusions: Overall, this study highlights the diverse antagonistic activities of O. heracleoticum-associated endophytes against both Bcc and multidrug-resistant (MDR) human pathogens. These findings hold important implications for investigating bacterial endophytes of medicinal plants as new sources of antimicrobial compounds.

Keywords
endophytes
medicinal plants
volatile organic compounds
antibacterial molecules
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