Integrated Genomic and Metabolomic Analysis Illuminates Key Secreted Metabolites Produced by the Novel Endophyte Bacillus halotolerans Cal.l.30 Involved in Diverse Biological Control Activities

The endophytic strain Cal.l.30, isolated from the medicinal plant Calendula officinalis, was selected among seven Bacillus strains with plant growth promoting activity and strong biological potential against the postharvest fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea. Treatment by inoculating Cal.l.30 bacterial cell culture or cell free supernatant on harvested grapes and cherry tomato fruits, significantly reduced gray mold disease severity index and disease incidence. Based on 16S rRNA sequence analysis and whole genome phylogeny, Cal.l.30 was identified as Bacillus halotolerans. Genome mining revealed that B. halotolerans Cal.l.30 is endowed with a diverse arsenal of secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters (SM-BGCs) responsible for metabolite production with antimicrobial properties. A sub-set of the identified SM-BGCs (mojavensin A, 'bacillunoic acid') appears to be the result of recent horizontal gene transfer events. Its genome was also mined for CAZymes associated with antifungal activity. Further UHPLC-HRMS analysis indicated that Cal.l.30 synthesizes and secretes secondary metabolites with antimicrobial activity, including the lipopeptides, fengycin, surfactin and mojavensin A, bacillaene isoforms, L-dihydroanticapsin and bacillibactin. Other compounds with known antimicrobial activity were also detected, such as azelaic acid, 15- hydroxypentadecanoid acid and 2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid. The genomic and metabolomic features of the B. halotolerans Cal.l.30 provided new perspectives on the exploitation of novel Bacillus sp. as a biocontrol agent.