Jun Seung Lee

GacA directly regulates expression of several virulence genes in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 11528.

A two-component system comprising GacS and GacA affects a large number of traits in many Gram-negative bacteria. However, the signals to which GacS responds, the regulation mechanism for GacA expression, and the genes GacA controls are not yet clear. In this study, several phenotypic tests and tobacco-leaf pathogenicity assays were conducted using a gacA deletion mutant strain (BL473) of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 11528. To determine the regulation mechanism for gacA gene expression and to identify GacA-regulated genes, we conducted quantitative RT-PCR and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) experiments. The results indicated that virulence traits related to the pathogenesis of P. syringae pv. tabaci 11528 are regulated coordinately by GacA and iron availability. They also revealed that several systems coordinately regulate gacA gene expression in response to iron concentration and bacterial cell density and that GacA and iron together control the expression of several virulence genes. EMSA results provided genetic and molecular evidence for direct control of virulence genes by GacA.

Negative Regulation of Pathogenesis in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 11528 by ATP-Dependent Lon Protease

Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci causes wildfire disease in tobacco plants. The hrp pathogenicity island (hrp PAI) of P. syringae pv. tabaci encodes a type III secretion system (TTSS) and its regulatory system, which are required for pathogenesis in plants. Three important regulatory proteins-HrpR, HrpS, and HrpL-have been identified to activate hrp PAI gene expression. The bacterial Lon protease regulates the expression of various genes. To investigate the regulatory mechanism of the Lon protease in P. syringae pv. tabaci 11528, we cloned the lon gene, and then a Δlon mutant was generated by allelic exchange. lon mutants showed increased UV sensitivity, which is a typical feature of such mutants. The Δlon mutant produced higher levels of tabtoxin than the wild-type. The lacZ gene was fused with hrpA promoter and activity of β-galactosidase was measured in hrp-repressing and hrp-inducing media. The Lon protease functioned as a negative regulator of hrp PAI under hrp-repressing conditions. We found that strains with lon disruption elicited the host defense system more rapidly and strongly than the wild-type strain, suggesting that the Lon protease is essential for systemic pathogenesis.

Isolation of Bacteria with Protease Activity from Cheonggukjang and Purification of Fibrinolytic Enzyme

To isolate the fibrinolytic enzyme, 268 strains from 21 samples were morphologically isolated from Cheonggukjang collected from Korea and Japan. Among the 268 strains, protease-producing bacteria were isolated in nutrient agar medium including 1% skimmed milk. As a result of this, 22 strains were isolated. Apiweb site was used to identify these strains based on their biochemical properties. In addition, 16S rRNA sequencing was performed to identify the strain. Most of the identified strains were Bacillus subtilis and B. amyloliquefaciens. Fibrinolytic enzyme activity was measured with the fibrin plate method. Five strains were finally selected: A2-14, A2-20, C1-05, C1-09, and F2-01. Of those five strains, the A2-20 strain, which is close to B. amyloliquefaciens, showed the strongest fibrinolytic activity. The fibrinolytic enzyme produced by the A2-20 strain was partially purified from culture supernatant by gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography. The optimal pH and temperature values of the partially purified enzyme were 7.0 and 35°C, respectively. Purified protein analysis was carried out with SDS-PAGE and zymography. A genetic analysis was also conducted by PCR based on the consensus sequence of fibrinolytic enzyme. Corresponding genes with a partial sequence of the A2-20 strain were identified.

The hrp pathogenicity island of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 is induced by plant phenolic acids

Plants produce a wide array of antimicrobial compounds, such as phenolic compounds, to combat microbial pathogens. The hrp PAI is one of the major virulence factors in the plant pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae. A major role of hrp PAI is to disable the plant defense system during bacterial invasion. We examined the influence of phenolic compounds on hrp PAI gene expression at low and high concentrations. There was approximately 2.5 times more hrpA and hrpZ mRNA in PtoDC3000 that was grown in minimal media (MM) supplemented with 10 -M of ortho-coumaric acid than in PtoDC3000 grown in MM alone. On the other hand, a significantly lower amount of hrpA mRNA was observed in bacteria grown in MM supplemented with a high concentration of phenolic compounds. To determine the regulation pathway for hrp PAI gene expression, we performed qRTPCR using gacS, gacA, and hrpS deletion mutants.

Plant Cell Contact-Dependent Virulence Regulation of hrp Genes in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 11528

The hrp gene cluster in the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae is a key determinant of pathogenicity. Recent studies have demonstrated that specific host cell induction of the Ralstonia solanacearum hrp gene cluster is controlled by the PrhA (plant regulator of hrp) receptor. To characterize the role that P. syringae PrhA plays in the virulence of plant cells, a prhA homolog was isolated from P. syringae pv. tabaci and a ΔprhA mutant was constructed by allelic exchange. The ΔprhA mutant had reduced virulence in the host plant, and co-culture of P. syringae pv. tabaci and plant cell suspensions induced a much higher level of hrpA gene transcription than culture in hrp-inducing minimal medium. These results indicate that PrhA of P. syringae is a putative pathogen-plant cell contact sensor, therefore, we used a hrpA-gfp reporter fusion to monitor the in situ expression of PrhA. The results of this study demonstrated that PrhA induces hrp gene expression in P. syringae pv. tabaci in the presence of plant cells.

A LuxR-type Transcriptional Regulator, PsyR, Coordinates Regulation of Pathogenesis-related Genes in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci

Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tabaci is a plant pathogenic bacterium that causes wildfire disease in tobacco plants. In P. syringae pv. tabaci, PsyI, a LuxI-type protein, acts as an AHL synthase, while primary and secondary sequence analysis of PsyR has revealed that it is a homolog of the LuxR-type transcriptional regulator that responds to AHL molecules. In this study, using phenotypic and genetic analyses in P. syringae pv. tabaci, we show the effect of PsyR protein as a quorum-sensing (QS) transcriptional regulator. Regulatory effects of PsyR on swarming motility and production of siderophores, tabtoxin, and N-acyl homoserine lactones were examined via phenotypic assays, and confirmed by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Further qRT-PCR showed that PsyR regulates expression of these virulence genes in response to environmental signals. However, an upstream region of the gene was not bound with purified MBP-PsyR protein; rather, PsyR was only able to shift the upstream region of psyI. These results suggested that PsyR may be indirectly controlled via intermediate-regulatory systems and that auto-regulation by PsyR does not occur.