The Siderophore Phymabactin Facilitates the Growth of the Legume Symbiont <i>Paraburkholderia phymatum</i> in Aluminium-Rich Martian Soil
Beneficial interactions between nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria and legumes offer a solution to increase crop yield on Earth and potentially in future Martian colonies. <i>Paraburkholderia phymatum</i> is a nitrogen-fixing beta-rhizobium, which enters symbiosis with more than 50 legumes an...
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2025-06-01
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| author | Daphné Golaz Luca Bürgi Marcel Egli Laurent Bigler Gabriella Pessi |
| author_facet | Daphné Golaz Luca Bürgi Marcel Egli Laurent Bigler Gabriella Pessi |
| author_sort | Daphné Golaz |
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| description | Beneficial interactions between nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria and legumes offer a solution to increase crop yield on Earth and potentially in future Martian colonies. <i>Paraburkholderia phymatum</i> is a nitrogen-fixing beta-rhizobium, which enters symbiosis with more than 50 legumes and can survive in acidic or aluminium-rich soils. In a previous RNA-sequencing study, we showed that the beta-rhizobium <i>P. phymatum</i> grows well in simulated microgravity and identified phymabactin as the only siderophore produced by this strain. Here, the growth of the beta-rhizobium <i>P. phymatum</i> was assessed in Martian simulant soil using Enhanced Mojave Mars Simulant 2 (MMS-2), which contains a high amount of iron (18.4 percent by weight) and aluminium (13.1 percent by weight). While <i>P. phymatum</i> wild-type’s growth was not affected by exposure to MMS-2, a mutant strain impaired in siderophore biosynthesis (Δ<i>phmJK</i>) grew less than <i>P. phymatum</i> wild-type on gradient plates in the presence of a high concentration of MMS-2 or aluminium. This result suggests that the <i>P. phymatum</i> siderophore phymabactin alleviates aluminium-induced heavy metal stress. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) showed that phymabactin can bind to aluminium more efficiently than iron. These results not only deepen our understanding of the behaviour of rhizobia in simulated extraterrestrial environments but also provide new insights into the potential use of <i>P. phymatum</i> for bioremediation of aluminium-rich soils and the multiple roles of the siderophore phymabactin. |
| format | Article |
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| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-2846057c9e2b4df88bf81ca73cd5acaa2025-08-20T02:45:46ZengMDPI AGLife2075-17292025-06-01157104410.3390/life15071044The Siderophore Phymabactin Facilitates the Growth of the Legume Symbiont <i>Paraburkholderia phymatum</i> in Aluminium-Rich Martian SoilDaphné Golaz0Luca Bürgi1Marcel Egli2Laurent Bigler3Gabriella Pessi4Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Chemistry, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, SwitzerlandSpace Biology Group, School of Engineering and Architecture, Institute of Medical Engineering, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, 6052 Hergiswil, SwitzerlandDepartment of Chemistry, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, SwitzerlandBeneficial interactions between nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria and legumes offer a solution to increase crop yield on Earth and potentially in future Martian colonies. <i>Paraburkholderia phymatum</i> is a nitrogen-fixing beta-rhizobium, which enters symbiosis with more than 50 legumes and can survive in acidic or aluminium-rich soils. In a previous RNA-sequencing study, we showed that the beta-rhizobium <i>P. phymatum</i> grows well in simulated microgravity and identified phymabactin as the only siderophore produced by this strain. Here, the growth of the beta-rhizobium <i>P. phymatum</i> was assessed in Martian simulant soil using Enhanced Mojave Mars Simulant 2 (MMS-2), which contains a high amount of iron (18.4 percent by weight) and aluminium (13.1 percent by weight). While <i>P. phymatum</i> wild-type’s growth was not affected by exposure to MMS-2, a mutant strain impaired in siderophore biosynthesis (Δ<i>phmJK</i>) grew less than <i>P. phymatum</i> wild-type on gradient plates in the presence of a high concentration of MMS-2 or aluminium. This result suggests that the <i>P. phymatum</i> siderophore phymabactin alleviates aluminium-induced heavy metal stress. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) showed that phymabactin can bind to aluminium more efficiently than iron. These results not only deepen our understanding of the behaviour of rhizobia in simulated extraterrestrial environments but also provide new insights into the potential use of <i>P. phymatum</i> for bioremediation of aluminium-rich soils and the multiple roles of the siderophore phymabactin.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/15/7/1044siderophorerhizobiumbioremediationmetalspace agriculture |
| spellingShingle | Daphné Golaz Luca Bürgi Marcel Egli Laurent Bigler Gabriella Pessi The Siderophore Phymabactin Facilitates the Growth of the Legume Symbiont <i>Paraburkholderia phymatum</i> in Aluminium-Rich Martian Soil Life siderophore rhizobium bioremediation metal space agriculture |
| title | The Siderophore Phymabactin Facilitates the Growth of the Legume Symbiont <i>Paraburkholderia phymatum</i> in Aluminium-Rich Martian Soil |
| title_full | The Siderophore Phymabactin Facilitates the Growth of the Legume Symbiont <i>Paraburkholderia phymatum</i> in Aluminium-Rich Martian Soil |
| title_fullStr | The Siderophore Phymabactin Facilitates the Growth of the Legume Symbiont <i>Paraburkholderia phymatum</i> in Aluminium-Rich Martian Soil |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Siderophore Phymabactin Facilitates the Growth of the Legume Symbiont <i>Paraburkholderia phymatum</i> in Aluminium-Rich Martian Soil |
| title_short | The Siderophore Phymabactin Facilitates the Growth of the Legume Symbiont <i>Paraburkholderia phymatum</i> in Aluminium-Rich Martian Soil |
| title_sort | siderophore phymabactin facilitates the growth of the legume symbiont i paraburkholderia phymatum i in aluminium rich martian soil |
| topic | siderophore rhizobium bioremediation metal space agriculture |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/15/7/1044 |
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