bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.09.07.286443; this version posted September 7, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. RESEARCH ARTICLE 1 Volatiles from Serratia marcescens, S. 2 proteamaculans, and Bacillus subtilis 3 Inhibit Growth of Rhizopus stolonifer and 4 Other Fungi 5 Derreck Carter-House1, Joshua Chung1, Skylar McDonald1, Kerry Mauck2, Jason 6 E Stajich1,* 7 University of California-Riverside, Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Riverside, CA, USA1; University 8 of California-Riverside, Department of Entomology, Riverside, CA, USA2 Compiled September 7, 2020 This is a draft manuscript, pre-submission 9 abstract The common soil bacteria Serratia marcescens, Serratia proteamaculans, Address correspondence to Jason Stajich, ja-
[email protected]. 10 and Bacillus subtilis produce small molecular weight volatile compounds that are fungi- 11 static against multiple species, including the zygomycete mold Rhizopus stolonifer (Mu- 12 coromycota) and the model filamentous mold Neurospora crassa (Ascomycota). The 13 compounds or the bacteria can be exploited in development of biological controls to 14 prevent establishment of fungi on food and surfaces. Here, we quantified and identi- 15 fied bacteria-produced volatiles using headspace sampling and gas chromatography- 16 mass spectrometry. We found that each bacterial species in culture has a unique 17 volatile profile consisting of dozens of compounds. Using multivariate statistical ap- 18 proaches, we identified compounds in common or unique to each species. Our anal- 19 ysis suggested that three compounds, dimethyl trisulfide, anisole, and 2-undecanone, 20 are characteristic of the volatiles emitted by these antagonistic bacteria.