An hrcU-homologous gene mutant of Xanthomonas campestris pv. glycines 8ra that lost pathogenicity on the host plant but was able to elicit the hypersensitive response on nonhosts

Light- and Relative Humidity-Regulated Hypersensitive Cell Death and Plant Immunity in Chinese Cabbage Leaves by a Non-adapted Bacteria Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria

Inoculation of Chinese cabbage leaves with high titer (107 cfu/ml) of the non-adapted bacteria Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria (Xcv) strain Bv5-4a.1 triggered rapid leaf tissue collapses and hypersensitive cell death (HCD) at 24 h. Electrolyte leakage and lipid peroxidation markedly increased in the Xcv-inoculated leaves. Defence-related gene expressions (BrPR1, BrPR4, BrChi1, BrGST1 and BrAPX1) were preferentially activated in the Xcv-inoculated leaves. The Xcv-triggered HCD was attenuated by continuous light but accelerated by a dark environment, and the prolonged high relative humidity also alleviated the HCD. Constant dark and increased relative humidity provided favorable conditions for the Xcv bacterial growth in the leaves. Pretreated fluridone (biosynthetic inhibitor of endogenous abscisic acid [ABA]) increased the HCD in the Xcv-inoculated leaves, but exogenous ABA attenuated the HCD. The pretreated ABA also reduced the Xcv bacterial growth in the leaves. These results highlight that the onset of HCD in Chinese cabbage leaves initiated by non-adapted pathogen Xcv Bv5-4a.1 and in planta bacterial growth was differently modulated by internal and external conditional changes.

Genome Sequencing and Functional Characterization of Xanthomonas cucurbitae, the Causal Agent of Bacterial Spot Disease of Cucurbits

Bacterial leaf spot disease caused by Xanthomonas cucurbitae has severely affected the pumpkin industries in the Midwestern region of United States, with the bacteria mainly infecting pumpkin leaves and fruits, and leading to significant yield losses. In this study, we utilized genomics and genetics approaches to elucidate X. cucurbitae molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis during interaction with its host. We generated the first reference-quality whole-genome sequence of the X. cucurbitae type isolate and compared with other Xanthomonas species, X. cucurbitae has a smaller genome size with fewer virulence-related genes. RNA-seq analysis of X. cucurbitae under plant-mimicking media conditions showed altered transcriptional responses, with upregulation of virulence genes and downregulation of cellular homeostasis genes. Additionally, characterization of key virulence genes using gene deletion methods revealed that both type II enzymes and type III effectors are necessary for X. cucurbitae to cause infection in the pumpkin host.

Structure-function analysis of the HrpB2-HrcU interaction in the Xanthomonas citri type III secretion system

Bacterial type III secretion systems deliver protein virulence factors to host cells. Here we characterize the interaction between HrpB2, a small protein secreted by the Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri type III secretion system, and the cytosolic domain of the inner membrane protein HrcU, a paralog of the flagellar protein FlhB. We show that a recombinant fragment corresponding to the C-terminal cytosolic domain of HrcU produced in E. coli suffers cleavage within a conserved Asn264-Pro265-Thr266-His267 (NPTH) sequence. A recombinant HrcU cytosolic domain with N264A, P265A, T266A mutations at the cleavage site (HrcU_AAAH) was not cleaved and interacted with HrpB2. Furthermore, a polypeptide corresponding to the sequence following the NPTH cleavage site also interacted with HrpB2 indicating that the site for interaction is located after the NPTH site. Non-polar deletion mutants of the hrcU and hrpB2 genes resulted in a total loss of pathogenicity in susceptible citrus plants and disease symptoms could be recovered by expression of HrpB2 and HrcU from extrachromossomal plasmids. Complementation of the ΔhrcU mutant with HrcU_AAAH produced canker lesions similar to those observed when complemented with wild-type HrcU. HrpB2 secretion however, was significantly reduced in the ΔhrcU mutant complemented with HrcU_AAAH, suggesting that an intact and cleavable NPTH site in HrcU is necessary for total functionally of T3SS in X. citri subsp. citri. Complementation of the ΔhrpB2 X. citri subsp. citri strain with a series of hrpB2 gene mutants revealed that the highly conserved HrpB2 C-terminus is essential for T3SS-dependent development of citrus canker symptoms in planta.

Molecular analysis of the hrp gene cluster in Xanthomonas oryzae pathovar oryzae KACC10859

Xanthomonas oryzae pathovar oryzae is the causal agent of rice bacterial blight. The plant pathogenic bacterium X. oryzae pv. oryzae expresses a type III secretion system that is necessary for both the pathogenicity in susceptible hosts and the induction of the hypersensitive response in resistant plants. This specialized protein transport system is encoded by a 32.18kb hrp (hypersensitive response and pathogenicity) gene cluster. The hrp gene cluster is composed of nine hrp, nine hrc (hrp conserved) and eight hpa (hrp-associated) genes and is controlled by HrpG and HrpX, which are known as regulators of the hrp gene cluster. Before mutational analysis of these hrp genes, the transcriptional linkages of the core region of the hrp gene cluster from hpaB to hrcC of the X. oryzae pv. oryzae KACC10859 was determined and the non-polarity of EZTn5 insertional mutagenesis was demonstrated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Pathogenicity assays of these non-polar hrp mutants were carried out on the susceptible rice cultivar, Milyang-23. According to the results of these assays, all hrp-hrc, except hrpF, and hpaB mutants lost their pathogenicity, which indicates that most hrp-hrc genes encode essential pathogenicity factors. On the other hand, most hpa mutants showed decreased virulence in a different pattern, i.e., hpa genes are not essential but are important for pathogenicity.

A Pectate Lyase Homolog, xagP, in Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines Is Associated with Hypersensitive Response Induction on Tobacco

ABSTRACT Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines is the causal agent of bacterial pustule disease of soybeans. A transposon insertional mutant (KU-P-M670) of X. axonopodis pv. glycines derived from wild-type strain KU-P-34017 lost the ability to induce the hypersensitive response (HR) on tobacco and pepper but retained its HR induction capacity on cucumber, sesame, and tomato. The mutation also resulted in loss of ability to cause a potato soft rot and express pectolytic activity at pH 6.5. An approximate 1.4-kb DNA fragment carrying the transposon insertion contained a single open reading frame that showed high homology with PSTRU-3, a pectate lyase gene in X. axonopodis pv. malvacearum. Complemented KU-P-M670 regained HR induction on tobacco and also pectolytic activity. Treatment of plants with inhibitors of eukaryotic metabolism blocked HR induction by wild-type strains and by complemented KU-P-M670. The presence of the pectate lyase homolog, which we designated xagP, in 26 X. axonopodis pv. glycines strains was highly correlated with their ability to induce an HR on tobacco. To our knowledge, this is the first study indicating a role for a functional pectate lyase in induction of a plant HR.

Nonhost resistance: how much do we know?

Nonhost disease resistance is the most common form of disease resistance exhibited by plants against the majority of potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Recently, several components of nonhost disease resistance have been identified. Nonhost resistance exhibited against bacteria, fungi and oomycetes can be of two types. Type I nonhost resistance does not produce any visible symptoms whereas type II nonhost resistance results in a rapid hypersensitive response with cell death. Strong similarities exist between nonhost and gene-for-gene resistance responses but it is still not clear if the same mechanism is involved in producing these resistance responses.

Characterization of the Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines Hrp pathogenicity island

We sequenced an approximately 29-kb region from Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines that contained the Hrp type III secretion system, and we characterized the genes in this region by Tn3-gus mutagenesis and gene expression analyses. From the region, hrp (hypersensitive response and pathogenicity) and hrc (hrp and conserved) genes, which encode type III secretion systems, and hpa (hrp-associated) genes were identified. The characteristics of the region, such as the presence of many virulence genes, low G+C content, and bordering tRNA genes, satisfied the criteria for a pathogenicity island (PAI) in a bacterium. The PAI was composed of nine hrp, nine hrc, and eight hpa genes with seven plant-inducible promoter boxes. The hrp and hrc mutants failed to elicit hypersensitive responses in pepper plants but induced hypersensitive responses in all tomato plants tested. The Hrp PAI of X. axonopodis pv. glycines resembled the Hrp PAIs of other Xanthomonas species, and the Hrp PAI core region was highly conserved. However, in contrast to the PAI of Pseudomonas syringae, the regions upstream and downstream from the Hrp PAI core region showed variability in the xanthomonads. In addition, we demonstrate that HpaG, which is located in the Hrp PAI region of X. axonopodis pv. glycines, is a response elicitor. Purified HpaG elicited hypersensitive responses at a concentration of 1.0 micro M in pepper, tobacco, and Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Cvi-0 by acting as a type III secreted effector protein. However, HpaG failed to elicit hypersensitive responses in tomato, Chinese cabbage, and A. thaliana ecotypes Col-0 and Ler. This is the first report to show that the harpin-like effector protein of Xanthomonas species exhibits elicitor activity.