Jolanta Kutkowska

Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii rosR is required for interaction with clover, biofilm formation and adaptation to the environment.

BackgroundRhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii is a symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacterium that elicits nodules on roots of host plants Trifolium spp. Bacterial surface polysaccharides are crucial for establishment of a successful symbiosis with legumes that form indeterminate-type nodules, such as Trifolium, Pisum, Vicia, and Medicago spp. and aid the bacterium in withstanding osmotic and other environmental stresses. Recently, the R. leguminosarum bv. trifolii RosR regulatory protein which controls exopolysaccharide production has been identified and characterized.ResultsIn this work, we extend our earlier studies to the characterization of rosR mutants which exhibit pleiotropic phenotypes. The mutants produce three times less exopolysaccharide than the wild type, and the low-molecular-weight fraction in that polymer is greatly reduced. Mutation in rosR also results in quantitative alterations in the polysaccharide constituent of lipopolysaccharide. The rosR mutants are more sensitive to surface-active detergents, antibiotics of the beta-lactam group and some osmolytes, indicating changes in the bacterial membranes. In addition, the rosR mutants exhibit significant decrease in motility and form a biofilm on plastic surfaces, which differs significantly in depth, architecture, and bacterial viability from that of the wild type. The most striking effect of rosR mutation is the considerably decreased attachment and colonization of root hairs, indicating that the mutation affects the first stage of the invasion process. Infection threads initiate at a drastically reduced rate and frequently abort before they reach the base of root hairs. Although these mutants form nodules on clover, they are unable to fix nitrogen and are outcompeted by the wild type in mixed inoculations, demonstrating that functional rosR is important for competitive nodulation.ConclusionsThis report demonstrates the significant role RosR regulatory protein plays in bacterial stress adaptation and in the symbiotic relationship between clover and R. leguminosarum bv. trifolii 24.2.

Complexity of phenotypes and symbiotic behaviour of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar trifolii exopolysaccharide mutants

Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar trifolii strain TA1 polysaccharide synthesis (pss) mutants in the pssD, pssP, pssT and pssO genes and altered in exopolysaccharide (EPS) synthesis were investigated. EPS-deficient mutants were also changed in lipopolysaccharide structure. All mutants exhibited varied sensitivities to detergents, ethanol and antibiotics, thus indicating changes in bacterial membrane integrity. Using pss mutants marked with the gusA gene, EPS-deficient mutants were found to have abnormalities in nodule development and to provoke severe plant defence reactions. The pss mutants that produced altered quantities of EPS with a changed degree of polymerisation generally occupied the younger developmental zones of the nodules and elicited moderate plant defence reactions.

Synthesis, crystal structure and biological activities of a novel amidrazone derivative and its copper(II) complex — A potential antitumor drug

A new linear amidrazone derivative, 6-acetyl-cyclohex-3-enecarboxylic acid [1-pyridin-2-yl-1-(pyridyn-2-yloamin)meth-(Z)-ylidene] hydrazide, H(2)L (2) and its Cu(II) complex, [Cu(2)L(2)]·4H(2)O (3) were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR and (1)H NMR spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Compound 2 was synthesized in the equimolar reaction of N(3)-substituted amidrazone with cis-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthalic anhydride. The Cu complex of 2 was obtained in the reaction with copper(II) acetate. The molecular structures of 2 and 3 were determined by X-ray crystallography. The parent ligand exists in its amide-hydrazone form in the solid state. The central amidrazone moiety has a Z configuration with respect to the double C=N bond. Coordination to the metal center promotes Z/E isomerization of the hydrazone group of the ligand. Compound 3 is a dinuclear four-coordinated Cu(II) complex with the amidrazone ligand behaving as a tetradentate double deprotonated chelating one. Several biological activities of 2 and 3 were examined in vitro; they were: antimicrobial properties against selected bacterial and fungal strains, suppression of phytohemagglutinin A (PHA)-induced proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and their effects on tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) production. The cytotoxic activity of Cu(II) complex was determined with respect to the four carcinoma cell lines (SW 984, CX-1, L-1210, A-431). The studied complex exhibited significant cytotoxic effects (particularly against CX-1 colon carcinoma), comparable to those reported for cisplatin. Both compounds have shown a relatively low antibacterial activity and were devoid of antifungal properties.

Mutation in the pssB-pssA intergenic region of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii affects the surface polysaccharides synthesis and nitrogen fixation ability

Summary A Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii Tn 5 transposon mutant deficient in exopolysaccharide biosynthesis was found to form non-nitrogen fixing nodules on clover. Root nodules induced by the mutant contained aberrant infection threads and few bacteroids. Sequence analysis of the transposon insertion site localized the mutation in the pssB-pssA intergenic region affecting the exopolysaccharide biosynthesis. The mutant also showed decreased sensitivity to SDS and deoxycholate and displayed a changed lipopolysaccharide (LPS) banding pattern compared to the wild-type strain TA1. The alteration in the O-polysaccharide part of LPS was confirmed by Western immunoblotting with polyclonal antibodies. LPS preparations of strain TA1 and the mutant strain only reacted with their homologous sera. The common epitopes in LPS from bacteroids and free-living rhizobia were revealed by immunogold assay. The results of this study indicate that the pssB-pssA region of R. leguminosarum bv. trifolii is important for the polysaccharide synthesis.

Occurrence and Taxonomic Significance of Oxo-fatty Acids in Lipopolysaccharides from Members of Mesorhizobium

Lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) isolated from seven strains of Mesorhizobium were studied for the presence of fatty acids with particular attention for 27-oxooctacosanoic acid and 4-oxo fatty acids. The LPSs from all analysed strains contained various amounts of 27-oxo-28:0 and all of them, with the exception of Mesorhizobium tianshanense, contained also 4-oxo fatty acids (4-oxo-20:0, 4-oxo-i-21:0, 4-oxo-22:0). The group of amide-linked fatty acids consisted of a wide range of 3-hydroxylated and 4-oxo fatty acids whereas all the nonpolar as well as the (omega-1) hydroxylated long-chain acids and the 27-oxo-28:0 fatty acids were ester-linked. The characteristic spectrum of 3-hydroxy fatty acids and presence of 27-OH-28:0 as well as 27-oxo-28:0 acid in LPSs of Mesorhizobium showed that these strains were closely related. Therefore the lipid A fatty acid pattern could be a useful chemotaxonomic marker which helps to isolate the Mesorhizobium group from rhizobium bacteria during the classification process.

Reactions of N3‐Substituted Amidrazones with cis‐1,2‐Cyclohexanedicarboxylic Anhydride and Biological Activities of the Products

A series of novel compounds were synthesized in reactions of N3‐substituted amidrazones with cis‐1,2‐cyclohexanedicarboxylic anhydride: linear, isoindole, and triazole derivatives. All new structures were confirmed by H1 NMR and IR spectrometry as well as elemental analysis. Potential biological effects of new compounds were predicted with the Prediction of Activity Spectra for Substances (PASS) program. Antiviral, antibacterial, analgesic, and anti‐inflammatory activities were experimentally verified.

PssP2 is a polysaccharide co-polymerase involved in exopolysaccharide chain-length determination in Rhizobium leguminosarum.

Production of extracellular polysaccharides is a complex process engaging proteins localized in different subcellular compartments, yet communicating with each other or even directly interacting in multicomponent complexes. Proteins involved in polymerization and transport of exopolysaccharide (EPS) in Rhizobium leguminosarum are encoded within the chromosomal Pss-I cluster. However, genes implicated in polysaccharide synthesis are common in rhizobia, with several homologues of pss genes identified in other regions of the R. leguminosarum genome. One such region is chromosomally located Pss-II encoding proteins homologous to known components of the Wzx/Wzy-dependent polysaccharide synthesis and transport systems. The pssP2 gene encodes a protein similar to polysaccharide co-polymerases involved in determination of the length of polysaccharide chains in capsule and O-antigen biosynthesis. In this work, a mutant with a disrupted pssP2 gene was constructed and its capabilities to produce EPS and enter into a symbiotic relationship with clover were studied. The pssP2 mutant, while not altered in lipopolysaccharide (LPS), displayed changes in molecular mass distribution profile of EPS. Lack of the full-length PssP2 protein resulted in a reduction of high molecular weight EPS, yet polymerized to a longer length than in the RtTA1 wild type. The mutant strain was also more efficient in symbiotic performance. The functional interrelation between PssP2 and proteins encoded within the Pss-I region was further supported by data from bacterial two-hybrid assays providing evidence for PssP2 interactions with PssT polymerase, as well as glycosyltransferase PssC. A possible role for PssP2 in a complex involved in EPS chain-length determination is discussed.

Structure of the O-polysaccharides of the lipopolysaccharides of Mesorhizobium loti HAMBI 1148 and Mesorhizobium amorphae ATCC 19655 containing two O-methylated monosaccharides

The O-polysaccharide of Mesorhizobium loti HAMBI 1148 was obtained by mild acid degradation of the lipopolysaccharide and studied by sugar and methylation analyses, Smith degradation, and (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopies, including 2D (1)H/(1)H COSY, TOCSY, ROESY, and H-detected (1)H/(13)C HSQC experiments. The O-polysaccharide was found to have a branched hexasaccharide-repeating unit of the following structure: [Formula: see text] where 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-4-O-methyl-D-glucose (D-GlcNAc4Me) and methyl group on 2-substituted D-rhamnose (Me) shown in italics are present in approximately 80% and approximately 40% repeating units, respectively. Similar studies of the O-polysaccharide from Mesorhizobium amorphae ATCC 19655 by sugar analysis and NMR spectroscopy revealed essentially the same structure but a higher content of 3-O-methyl-D-rhamnose ( approximately 70%).

Novel O-Benzyl Oxime Ethers of 1-(Thiophen-2-yl)ethan-1-one – Synthesis, Structure and Antimicrobial Activity

1 Department of Organic Chemistry, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Jurasza 2, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland, *E-mail: tpkos@wp.pl 2 Department of Genetic and Microbiology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Sklodowska-Curie University, Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Poland 3 Medicinal Chemistry Department, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Jurasza 2, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland 4 Department of Organic Chemistry, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Grunwaldzka 6, 60-780 Poznan, Poland

Electrophoretic profiles of lipopolysaccharides from Rhizobium strains nodulating Pisum sativum do not reflect phylogenetic relationships between these strains

Rhizobia that nodulate peas comprise a heterogeneous group of bacteria. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between phylogeny and electrophoretic and hydroxy fatty acid lipopolysaccharide (LPS) profiles of pea microsymbionts. Based on amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting data, the pea microsymbionts were grouped into two clusters distinguished at 58% similarity level. Based on the concatenated 16S rRNA, recA, and atpD housekeeping gene data, the microsymbionts appeared to be most closely related to Rhizobium leguminosarum biovars viciae and trifolii. Applying cluster analysis to their LPS electrophoretic profiles, the strains were assigned to two major groups with different banding patterns. All hydroxy fatty acids common to R. leguminosarum and R. etli were detected in each examined strain. Differences in the proportions of 3- to ω-1 hydroxy fatty acids allowed us to distinguish two groups of strains. This classification did not overlap with one based on LPS electrophoretic profiles. No clear correlation was apparent between the genetic traits and LPS profiles of the pea nodule isolates.