Saprophyte. Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5

Pseudomonas fluorescens strain Pf-5. This strain can suppress the diseases caused by Rhizoctonia solani and Pythium ultimum which affect cotton plants. The production of a number of antibiotics (pyrrolnitrin, pyoluteorin, and 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol) as well as the production of siderophores (which may affect the ability of competing organisms to obtain environmental iron) by this strain can inhibit phytopathogen growth such as the above-mentioned fungi. The genome of this organism contains a number of genes, estimated at 5.7 % of the chromosome, that encode proteins that are involved in secondary metabolism. A large number of repeat elements (REP) are also found in the genome in greater numbers than in related Pseudomonas spp.