Transcriptomic profiling suggests that Promysalin alters metabolic flux, motility, and iron regulation in Pseudomonas putida KT2440.

Promysalin, a secondary metabolite produced by P. putida RW10S1, is a narrow-spectrum antibiotic that targets P. aeruginosa over other Pseudomonas spp. P. putida KT2440, a non-producing strain, displays increased swarming motility and decreased pyoverdine production in the presence of exogenous promysalin. Herein, proteomic and transcriptomic experiments were used to provide insight about how promysalin elicits responses in PPKT2440 and rationalize its species-selectivity. RNA-sequencing results suggest that promysalin affects PPKT2440 by 1) increasing swarming in a flagella-independent manner; 2) causing cells to behave as if they were experiencing an iron-deficient environment, and 3) shifting metabolism away from glucose conversion to pyruvate via the Entner-Doudoroff pathway. These findings highlight Nature's ability to develop small molecules with specific targets that result in exquisite selectivity.