Tropodithietic Acid, a Multifunctional Antimicrobial, Facilitates Adaption and Colonization of the Producer, Phaeobacter piscinae
Laura Louise Lindqvist, Scott A. Jarmusch, Eva C. Sonnenschein, Mikael Lenz Strube, Janie Kim, Maike Wennekers Nielsen, Paul J. Kempen, Erwin M. Schoof, Sheng‐Da Zhang, Lone Gram
Abstract
group. We show that TDA affects several phenotypes of the producing strain, including motility, cell morphology, metal metabolism, and three horizontal gene transfer systems: a prophage, a type IV secretion system, and a gene transfer agent. Together, this indicates that TDA participates in coordinating the colonization process of the producer. TDA is thus an example of a multifunctional secondary metabolite that can mediate complex interactions in microbial communities. This work broadens our understanding of the ecological role that secondary metabolites have in microbial community dynamics.