Genome characterization of the novel Photorhabdus sp. strain p32 isolated in Argentina from Galleria mellonella larvae

ZIMMERMANN, J.A.; PALMA, L.; ACOSTA, F.; FRIZZO, L.; DEL VALLE, E.E.

Nelson Mandela Bay

Congreso; International Congress on Invertebrate Pathology and Microbial Control; 2022

Nematodes of the genus Heterorhabditis parasite and kill insects, exhibiting the potential to be used as biological control agents in crops of agricultural relevance. The genus Heterorhabditis is symbiotically associated with bacteria of the genus Photorhabdus (Enterobacteriaceae). These bacteria grow rapidly and release insecticidal toxins that kill the insect host through a combination of generalized toxemia and septicemia. In addition, they can synthesize other secondary metabolites aimed to inhibit the proliferation of other competing opportunistic microorganisms, thus presenting an additional potential for biotechnological applications. The aim of this work was to perform the genome sequencing of the symbiotic bacterium Photorhabdus sp. strain p32, isolated in Argentina from Galleria mellonella larvae infested with Heterorhabditisamazonensis (Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae). The draft genome sequence of this strain consisted of 247 contig sequences accounting for 5,359,514 bp, with a G+C content of 42.5%, 5258 predicted protein-coding sequences (CDS) and 11 RNA genes. From these, 27 CDS exhibited significant similarity with insecticidal proteins and 3 CDS with chitinases. We also found 5 clusters for the production of biologically active secondary metabolites. The genome analysis performed with the Type (Strain) Genome Server showed that this strain likely belongs to a novel Photorhabdus species. In this work, we describe a novel Photorhabdus strain which will enlarge the current known species repertory of the genus and will contribute to the availability of novel insecticidal proteins and other natural products with interesting potential for biotechnology.