【學術亮點】Development of an Engineered Bacterial Endophyte: Promoting Plant Growth Through Pyrroloquinoline Quinone (PQQ) Synthesis
Recycling Agriculture: Agricultural Waste Recycling: Research and Development of Low-Carbon Agricultural Technologies【Department of Life Sciences / Huang, Chieh-Chen / Distinguished Professor】
循環農業：農業廢棄物再資源化—研發低碳農業技術【生命科學系/黃介辰特聘教授】
| 論文篇名 | 英文：Development of an Engineered Bacterial Endophyte: Promoting Plant Growth Through Pyrroloquinoline Quinone (PQQ) Synthesis 中文：工程細菌內生菌的開發：透過吡咯喹啉醌（PQQ）合成促進植物生長 |
| 期刊名稱 | Microorganisms |
| 發表年份,卷數,起迄頁數 | 2025, 13(2), no. 293 |
| 作者 | Fang, Ti; Lo, Shou-Chen; Yu, Yu-Ning; Sou, Nga-Lai; Hung, Shih-Hsun Walter; Peng, Jian-Hau; Chiang, En-Pei Isabel(蔣恩沛); Huang, Chieh-Chen(黃介辰)* |
| DOI | 10.3390/microorganisms13020293 |
| 中文摘要 | 內生菌是一類能夠在植物宿主細胞間定殖而不會造成明顯損害或病害的微生物。我們先前的研究發現，一種產吡咯喹啉醌 (PQQ) 的內生菌可以促進植物生長和系統耐受性。為了證明這種產 PQQ 的內生菌對植物的有益作用，我們將一組來自氧化葡萄糖桿菌 (Gluconobacter oxydans)的五個 PQQ 合成基因分別導入大腸桿菌JM109 和枯草芽孢桿菌RM125（一種實驗室菌株枯草芽孢桿菌168 的 BsuM 缺陷型突變體）。有趣的是，攜帶 PQQ 合成基因的兩個菌株的最佳光密度都顯著高於對照菌株。在碳通量分析中，兩種菌株的檸檬酸、α-酮戊二酸和琥珀酸水平均顯著增加。相反，在大腸桿菌中，丙酮酸、蘋果酸和富馬酸含量降低。這些結果顯示 PQQ 對不同宿主物種的影響不同。此外，在 RM125 PQQ 合成重組菌株中也證實了發酵液中存在 PQQ。隨後透過接種這些芽孢桿菌菌株進行的實驗表明，實驗室宿主菌株可以作為內生菌發揮作用，而 PQQ 基因轉殖菌株可以進一步促進擬南芥的生長並增加角果數量。這些發現證實了 PQQ 在內生菌介導的植物生長促進中的重要作用，也顯示了用 PQQ 基因轉化的枯草芽孢桿菌作為工程內生菌在研究 PQQ 在植物中的生物學功能方面的潛力。這項研究在理解特定物質如何透過內生機制有益地影響植物生長和系統耐受性方面向前邁進了一步。 |
| 英文摘要 | Endophytic bacteria are a group of microorganisms that can intercellularly colonize plant hosts without causing apparent damage or disease. Our previous works found that a pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ)-producing endophyte could promote plant growth and systemic tolerance. To demonstrate this PQQ-producing endophyte’s beneficial role in plants, a set of five PQQ synthesis genes from Gluconobacter oxydans was introduced into both Escherichia coli JM109 and Bacillus subtilis RM125, a BsuM-deficient mutant of laboratory strain B. subtilis 168. Interestingly, both strains harboring the PQQ synthesis genes exhibited significantly higher optimal optical density than control strains. In a carbon flux analysis, both strains showed a noticeable increase in their citric acid, alpha-ketoglutaric acid, and succinic acid levels. Conversely, in E. coli, pyruvic acid, malic acid, and fumaric acid levels decreased. These results suggest that PQQ impacts various host species differently. Furthermore, the presence of PQQ in fermentation broth was also confirmed in the RM125 PQQ synthesis recombinant strain. Subsequent experiments by inoculating those Bacillus strains revealed that the laboratory host strain could function as an endophyte, and the PQQ transgenic strain could further promote the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana and increase the number of siliques. These findings confirm PQQ’s vital role in endophyte-mediated plant growth promotion and also suggest the potential of B. subtilis transformed with PQQ genes as an engineered endophyte for studying PQQ’s biological functions in plants. This research is a step forward in understanding how specific substances can beneficially influence plant growth and systemic tolerance through endophytic mechanisms. |
| 發表成果與本中心研究主題相關性 | 利用基因工程，證實原本發現促進植物生長的內生菌，的確以PQQ來影響植物生長。未來PQQ可用於優化農作物生長效率，降低化肥使用，從栽種源頭開始減少碳排並增加作物固碳能力，達到永續農業之目標。 |
