VOC emission of various Serratia species and isolates and genome analysis of Serratia plymuthica 4Rx13

Abstract

Bacteria emit a wealth of volatile organic compounds. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry analysis of five Serratia strains revealed ketones, dimethyl di- and trisulfide and 2-phenylethanol commonly released in this genus. The polymethylated bicyclic hydrocarbon sodorifen was uniquely released by the rhizobacterium Serratia plymuthica 4Rx13. Of 10 Serratia strains, only S. plymuthica isolates originating from plants grown on fields near Rostock (Germany) released this new and unusual compound. Since the biosynthetic pathway of sodorifen was unknown, the genome sequence of S. plymuthica 4Rx13 was determined and annotated. Genome comparison of S. plymuthica 4Rx13 with sodorifen non-producing Serratia species highlighted 246 unique candidate open reading frames. Unique emission of sodorifen by Serratia plymuthica isolated near Rostock (Germany) was correlated to Serratia genome analysis. © 2013 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.