Nematicidal indole oxazoles and chemoattractants from soil bacteria

Ecological interactions between bacteria and nematodes in many environments provide a basis for the prediction that diverse bacteria produce anti-nematode compounds. The discovery of microbial secondary metabolites with broad-spectrum nematostatic or nematicidal properties can be hastened by drug screening approaches that include several nematode species and phenotypes. We cultured a collection of 22 soil-derived bacterial isolates that carry in their genomes putative pathways for production of unknown secondary metabolites. Isolates were cultured in various media to enhance natural product diversity and yield, and we evaluated culture filtrates for activity against two evolutionarily distinct nematode species: Clade V free-living nematode <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> and Clade III mammalian parasitic nematodes in the genus <i>Brugia</i>. Partitioned extracts from <i>Pseudomonas</i> sp. strain TE4607 stunted <i>C. elegans</i> development and caused motility defects in both blood-circulating larval and adult stages of <i>Brugia</i>. The primary active compound was identified as labradorin 1, an indole with known antibacterial and anticancer properties that had not been previously described as affecting nematodes. Notably, filtrates of <i>Pseudomonas</i> sp. TE4607 cultures attracted free-living nematodes in sensory assays, adding to evidence that certain <i>Pseudomonas</i> species modulate the behavior of free-living nematodes. These findings underscore the need to further explore the link between nematode sensory responses and whole-organism effects of microbial metabolites, with potential applications in anthelmintic discovery.