The biological activity of bacterial rhamnolipids on Arabidopsis thaliana and the cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii is linked to their molecular structure

Rhamnolipids (RLs) are amphiphilic compounds of bacterial origin that offer a broad range of potential applications as biosurfactants in industry and agriculture. They are reported to be active against different plant pests and pathogens and thus are considered promising candidates for nature-derived plant protection agents. However, as these glycolipids are structurally diverse, little is known about their exact mode of action and, in particular, the relation between molecular structure and biological activity against plant pests and pathogens.

Engineering the synthesis pathway in recombinant Pseudomonas putida strains in combination with advanced HPLC techniques allowed us to separately analyze the activities of mixtures of pure mono-RLs (mRLs) and of pure di-RL (dRLs), as well as the activity of single congeners. In a model system with the plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the plant-parasitic nematode (PPN) Heterodera schachtii we demonstrate that RLs can significantly reduce infection, whereas their impact on the host plant varied depending on their molecular structure. While mRLs reduced plant growth even at a low concentration, dRLs showed a neutral to beneficial impact on plant development. Treating plants with dRLs triggered an increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, indicating the activation of stress-response signaling and possibly plant defense. Pretreatment of plants with mRLs or dRLs prior to application of flagellin (flg22), a known ROS inducer, further increased the ROS response to flg22. While dRLs stimulated an elevated flg22-induced ROS peak, a pretreatment with mRLs resulted in a prolonged synthesis of ROS indicating a generally elevated stress level. Neither mRLs nor dRLs induced the expression of plant defense marker genes of salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, and ethylene pathways.

Detailed studies on dRLs revealed that even high concentrations up to 755 ppm of these molecules have no lethal impact on H. schachtii infective juveniles. Infection assays with individual dRL congeners showed that the C10-C8 acyl chained dRL was the only congener without effect, while dRLs with C10-C12 and C10-C12:1 acyl chains were most efficient in reducing nematode infection even at concentrations below 2 ppm. As determined by phenotyping and ROS measurements, A. thaliana reacted more sensitive to long-chained dRLs in a concentration-dependent manner.

Our experiments show a clear structure-activity relation for the effect of RLs on plants. In conclusion, functional assessment and analysis of the mode of action of RLs in plants and other organisms require careful consideration of their molecular structure and composition.