Effects of glycosylation on swimming ability and flagellar polymorphic transformation in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605

Reassessing the Standard Chemotaxis Framework for Understanding Biased Migration in Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori infections are a major cause of peptic ulcers and gastric cancers. The development of robust inflammation in response to these flagellated, motile bacteria is correlated with poor prognosis. Chemotaxis plays a crucial role in H. pylori colonization, enabling the bacteria to swim toward favorable chemical environments. Unlike the model species of bacterial chemotaxis, Escherichia coli, H. pylori cells possess polar flagella. They run forward by rotating their flagella counterclockwise, whereas backward runs are achieved by rotating their flagella clockwise. We delve into the implications of certain features of the canonical model of chemotaxis on our understanding of biased migration in polarly flagellated bacteria such as H. pylori. In particular, we predict how the translational displacement of H. pylori cells during a backward run could give rise to chemotaxis errors within the canonical framework. Also, H. pylori lack key chemotaxis enzymes found in E. coli, without which sensitive detection of ligands with a wide dynamic range seems unlikely. Despite these problems, H. pylori exhibit robust ability to migrate toward urea-rich sources. We emphasize various unresolved questions regarding the biophysical mechanisms of chemotaxis in H. pylori, shedding light on potential directions for future research. Understanding the intricacies of biased migration in H. pylori could offer valuable insights into how pathogens breach various protective barriers in the human host.

A novel BLUF photoreceptor modulates the Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri-host plant interaction

Plant-pathogen interaction is influenced by multiple environmental factors, including temperature and light. Recent works have shown that light modulates not only the defense response of plants but also the pathogens virulence. Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc) is the bacterium responsible for citrus canker, an important plant disease worldwide. The Xcc genome presents four genes encoding putative photoreceptors: one bacteriophytochrome and three blue light photoreceptors, one LOV and two BLUFs (bluf1: XAC2120 and bluf2: XAC3278). The presence of two BLUFs proteins is an outstanding feature of Xcc. In this work we show that the bluf2 gene is functional. The mutant strain, XccΔbluf2, was constructed demonstrating that BLUF2 regulates swimming-type motility, adhesion to leaves, exopolysaccharide production and biofilm formation, features involved in the Xcc virulence processes. An important aspect during the plant-pathogen interaction is the oxidative response of the host and the consequent reaction of the pathogen. We observed that ROS detoxification is regulated by Xcc bluf2 gene. The phenotypes of disease in orange plants produced by WT and XccΔbluf2 strains were evaluated, observing different phenotypes. Altogether, these results show that BLUF2 negatively regulates virulence during citrus canker. This work constitutes the first report on BLUF-like receptors in plant pathogenic bacteria.

Bacterial rhamnolipids and their 3-hydroxyalkanoate precursors activate Arabidopsis innate immunity through two independent mechanisms

Plant innate immunity is activated upon perception of invasion pattern molecules by plant cell-surface immune receptors. Several bacteria of the genera Pseudomonas and Burkholderia produce rhamnolipids (RLs) from l-rhamnose and (R)-3-hydroxyalkanoate precursors (HAAs). RL and HAA secretion is required to modulate bacterial surface motility, biofilm development, and thus successful colonization of hosts. Here, we show that the lipidic secretome from the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, mainly comprising RLs and HAAs, stimulates Arabidopsis immunity. We demonstrate that HAAs are sensed by the bulb-type lectin receptor kinase LIPOOLIGOSACCHARIDE-SPECIFIC REDUCED ELICITATION/S-DOMAIN-1-29 (LORE/SD1-29), which also mediates medium-chain 3-hydroxy fatty acid (mc-3-OH-FA) perception, in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana HAA sensing induces canonical immune signaling and local resistance to plant pathogenic Pseudomonas infection. By contrast, RLs trigger an atypical immune response and resistance to Pseudomonas infection independent of LORE. Thus, the glycosyl moieties of RLs, although abolishing sensing by LORE, do not impair their ability to trigger plant defense. Moreover, our results show that the immune response triggered by RLs is affected by the sphingolipid composition of the plasma membrane. In conclusion, RLs and their precursors released by bacteria can both be perceived by plants but through distinct mechanisms.

Bacterial Flagellar Filament: A Supramolecular Multifunctional Nanostructure

The bacterial flagellum is a complex and dynamic nanomachine that propels bacteria through liquids. It consists of a basal body, a hook, and a long filament. The flagellar filament is composed of thousands of copies of the protein flagellin (FliC) arranged helically and ending with a filament cap composed of an oligomer of the protein FliD. The overall structure of the filament core is preserved across bacterial species, while the outer domains exhibit high variability, and in some cases are even completely absent. Flagellar assembly is a complex and energetically costly process triggered by environmental stimuli and, accordingly, highly regulated on transcriptional, translational and post-translational levels. Apart from its role in locomotion, the filament is critically important in several other aspects of bacterial survival, reproduction and pathogenicity, such as adhesion to surfaces, secretion of virulence factors and formation of biofilms. Additionally, due to its ability to provoke potent immune responses, flagellins have a role as adjuvants in vaccine development. In this review, we summarize the latest knowledge on the structure of flagellins, capping proteins and filaments, as well as their regulation and role during the colonization and infection of the host.

Pseudomonas Flagella: Generalities and Specificities

Flagella-driven motility is an important trait for bacterial colonization and virulence. Flagella rotate and propel bacteria in liquid or semi-liquid media to ensure such bacterial fitness. Bacterial flagella are composed of three parts: a membrane complex, a flexible-hook, and a flagellin filament. The most widely studied models in terms of the flagellar apparatus are E. coli and Salmonella. However, there are many differences between these enteric bacteria and the bacteria of the Pseudomonas genus. Enteric bacteria possess peritrichous flagella, in contrast to Pseudomonads, which possess polar flagella. In addition, flagellar gene expression in Pseudomonas is under a four-tiered regulatory circuit, whereas enteric bacteria express flagellar genes in a three-step manner. Here, we use knowledge of E. coli and Salmonella flagella to describe the general properties of flagella and then focus on the specificities of Pseudomonas flagella. After a description of flagellar structure, which is highly conserved among Gram-negative bacteria, we focus on the steps of flagellar assembly that differ between enteric and polar-flagellated bacteria. In addition, we summarize generalities concerning the fuel used for the production and rotation of the flagellar macromolecular complex. The last part summarizes known regulatory pathways and potential links with the type-six secretion system (T6SS).

Specificity in glycosylation of multiple flagellins by the modular and cell cycle regulated glycosyltransferase FlmG

How specificity is programmed into post-translational modification of proteins by glycosylation is poorly understood, especially for O-linked glycosylation systems. Here we reconstitute and dissect the substrate specificity underpinning the cytoplasmic O-glycosylation pathway that modifies all six flagellins, five structural and one regulatory paralog, in Caulobacter crescentus, a monopolarly flagellated alpha-proteobacterium. We characterize the biosynthetic pathway for the sialic acid-like sugar pseudaminic acid and show its requirement for flagellation, flagellin modification and efficient export. The cognate NeuB enzyme that condenses phosphoenolpyruvate with a hexose into pseudaminic acid is functionally interchangeable with other pseudaminic acid synthases. The previously unknown and cell cycle-regulated FlmG protein, a defining member of a new class of cytoplasmic O-glycosyltransferases, is required and sufficient for flagellin modification. The substrate specificity of FlmG is conferred by its N-terminal flagellin-binding domain. FlmG accumulates before the FlaF secretion chaperone, potentially timing flagellin modification, export, and assembly during the cell division cycle.

Distinct chemotactic behavior in the original Escherichia coli K-12 depending on forward-and-backward swimming, not on run-tumble movements

Most motile bacteria are propelled by rigid, helical, flagellar filaments and display distinct swimming patterns to explore their favorable environments. Escherichia coli cells have a reversible rotary motor at the base of each filament. They exhibit a run-tumble swimming pattern, driven by switching of the rotational direction, which causes polymorphic flagellar transformation. Here we report a novel swimming mode in E. coli ATCC10798, which is one of the original K-12 clones. High-speed tracking of single ATCC10798 cells showed forward and backward swimming with an average turning angle of 150°. The flagellar helicity remained right-handed with a 1.3 μm pitch and 0.14 μm helix radius, which is consistent with the feature of a curly type, regardless of motor switching; the flagella of ATCC10798 did not show polymorphic transformation. The torque and rotational switching of the motor was almost identical to the E. coli W3110 strain, which is a derivative of K-12 and a wild-type for chemotaxis. The single point mutation of N87K in FliC, one of the filament subunits, is critical to the change in flagellar morphology and swimming pattern, and lack of flagellar polymorphism. E. coli cells expressing FliC(N87K) sensed ascending a chemotactic gradient in liquid but did not spread on a semi-solid surface. Based on these results, we concluded that a flagellar polymorphism is essential for spreading in structured environments.

Plasmid gene for putative integral membrane protein affects formation of lipopolysaccharide and motility in Azospirillum brasilense Sp245

The bacterium Azospirillum brasilense can swim and swarm owing to the work of polar and lateral flagella. Its major surface glycopolymers consist of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and Calcofluor-binding polysaccharides (Cal⁺ phenotype). Motility and surface glycopolymers are important for the interactions of plant-associated bacteria with plants. The facultative plant endophyte A. brasilense Sp245 produces two antigenically different LPS, LpsI, and LpsII, containing identical O-polysaccharides. Previously, using vector pJFF350 for random Omegon-Km mutagenesis, we constructed a mutant of Sp245 named KM018 that still possessed flagella, although paralyzed. The mutant was no longer able to produce Calcofluor-binding polysaccharides and LpsII. Because of the limited experimental data on the genetic aspects of surface glycopolymer production and flagellar motility in azospirilla, the aim of this study was to identify and examine in more detail the coding sequence of strain Sp245, inactivated in the mutant. We found that pJFF350 was integrated into a coding sequence for a putative integral membrane protein of unknown function (AZOBR_p60025) located in the sixth plasmid of Sp245. To clarify the role of the putative protein, we cloned AZOBR_p60025 in the expression vector pRK415 and used it for the genetic complementation of mutant KM018. The SDS-PAGE, immunodiffusion, and linear immunoelectrophoresis analyses showed that in strain KM018 (pRK415-p60025), the wild-type LpsI⁺ LpsII⁺ profile was restored. The complemented mutant had a Cal⁺ phenotype and it was capable of swimming and swarming motility. Thus, the AZOBR_p60025-encoded protein significantly affects the composition of the major cell-surface glycopolymers and the single-cell and social motility of azospirilla.

A ten gene-containing genomic island determines flagellin glycosylation: implication for its regulatory role in motility and virulence of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

Flagellin glycosylation plays a crucial role in flagellar assembly, motility and virulence in several pathogenic bacteria. However, little is known about the genetic determinants and biological functions of flagellin glycosylation in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), the causal pathogen of bacterial blight of rice. Here, the structure, regulation and functions of a ten-gene cluster gigX (glycosylation island genes of Xoo), which was embedded in a flagellar regulon, were characterized. gigX1 to gigX10 encoded putative enzymes or proteins involved in glycan biosynthesis and transfer, including a nucleotide sugar transaminase, an acyl-carrier protein (ACP), a 3-oxoacyl-ACP synthase, a 3-oxoacyl-ACP reductase, a dehydrogenase, an acetyltransferase, a ring hydroxylating dioxygenase, a hypothetical protein, a methyltransferanse and a glycosyltransferase, respectively. The gigX genes were co-transcribed in an operon and up-regulated by the upstream σ⁵⁴ factor RpoN2 and transcriptional activator FleQ. In-frame deletion of each gigX gene affected flagellin glycosylation modification, meaning that the unglycosylated flagellin of the mutants was smaller than the glycosylated flagellin of the wild-type. No significant changes in flagellar filament and motility were observed in the ΔgigX mutants, among which only ΔgigX6 displayed increased swimming ability. Importantly, all mutants, except ΔgigX9, showed significantly increased virulence and bacterial growth in the susceptible rice cultivar IR24, and ΔgigX1 and ΔgigX10 showed enhanced type III secretion system (T3SS)-related gene expression. Moreover, the glycosylated flagellin of the wild-type induced higher H₂ O₂ levels in rice leaves than did the unglycosylated flagellins of ΔgigX1 or ΔgigX10. Taken together, this study reveals that the gigX cluster determines flagellin glycosylation, and implicates the regulatory role of post-translational modification with the glycosylation, acetylation and methylation of flagellin in the regulation of motility and virulence of Xoo.

N-acylhomoserine lactone-regulation of genes mediating motility and pathogenicity in Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tabaci 11528

Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tabaci 11528 (P. syringae 11528) is a phytopathogen that causes wild-fire disease in soybean and tobacco plants. It utilizes a cell density-dependent regulation system known as quorum sensing (QS). In its QS system, the psyI is responsible for the biosynthesis of N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs). By comparing the transcripts from P. syringae 11528 wild-type strain with those of the ΔpsyI mutant using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technology, 1118 AHL-regulated genes were identified in the transition from exponential to stationary growth phase. Numerous AHL-regulated genes involved in pathogenicity were negatively controlled, including genes linked to flagella, chemotaxis, pilus, extracellular polysaccharides, secretion systems, and two-component system. Moreover, gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the most pronounced regulation was associated with bacterial motility. Finally, phenotypic assays showed that QS-regulated traits were involved in epiphytic growth of pathogens and disease development in plants. These findings imply that the AHL-mediated QS system in P. syringae 11528 plays significant roles in distinct stages of interactions between plants and pathogens, including early plant colonization and late plant infection.

Current Understandings of Plant Nonhost Resistance

Nonhost resistance, a resistance of plant species against all nonadapted pathogens, is considered the most durable and efficient immune system of plants but yet remains elusive. The underlying mechanism of nonhost resistance has been investigated at multiple levels of plant defense for several decades. In this review, we have comprehensively surveyed the latest literature on nonhost resistance in terms of preinvasion, metabolic defense, pattern-triggered immunity, effector-triggered immunity, defense signaling, and possible application in crop protection. Overall, we summarize the current understanding of nonhost resistance mechanisms. Pre- and postinvasion is not much deviated from the knowledge on host resistance, except for a few specific cases. Further insights on the roles of the pattern recognition receptor gene family, multiple interactions between effectors from nonadapted pathogen and plant factors, and plant secondary metabolites in host range determination could expand our knowledge on nonhost resistance and provide efficient tools for future crop protection using combinational biotechnology approaches. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .

A Conserved Helicobacter pylori Gene, HP0102, Is Induced Upon Contact With Gastric Cells and Has Multiple Roles in Pathogenicity

Contact with host cells is recognized as a signal capable of triggering expression of bacterial genes important for host pathogen interaction. Adherence of Helicobacter pylori to the gastric epithelial cell line AGS strongly upregulated expression of a gene, HP0102, in the adhered bacteria in all strains examined, including several Indian clinical isolates. The gene is highly conserved and ubiquitously present in all 69 sequenced H. pylori genomes at the same genomic locus, as well as in 15 Indian clinical isolates. The gene is associated with 2 distinct phenotypes related to pathogenicity. In AGS cell-adhered H. pylori, it has a role in upregulation of cagA expression from a specific σ(28)-RNAP promoter and consequent induction of the hummingbird phenotype in the infected AGS cells. Furthermore, HP0102 has a role in chemotaxis and a ΔHP0102 mutant exhibited low acid-escape response that might account for the poor colonization efficiency of the mutant.

PXO_00987, a putative acetyltransferase, is required for flagellin glycosylation, and regulates flagellar motility, exopolysaccharide production, and biofilm formation in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

Acetyltransferases catalyze an important process for sugar or protein modification. In the genome of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), the causal agent of bacterial blight of rice, there are 32 acetyltransferase-encoding genes belonging to different families. In this work, we focused on PXO_00987, which encodes a putative acetyltransferase in the flagellar regulon. We found that mutation of PXO_00987 gene abolished the glycosylation of wild-type flagellin protein of Xoo. In addition, the PXO_00987 mutant showed enhanced swimming motility, and decreased exopolysaccharide production and biofilm formation. Virulence assays demonstrated that the PXO_00987 mutant caused shorter disease length on rice leaves, suggesting that the function of PXO_00987 contributes to the pathogenesis of Xoo.

Characterization of quorum sensing-controlled transcriptional regulator MarR and Rieske (2Fe-2S) cluster-containing protein (Orf5), which are involved in resistance to environmental stresses in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605

Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605 (Pta6605) produces acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs), quorum sensing (QS) molecules that are indispensable for virulence in host tobacco infection. Genome-wide transcriptional profiling of several QS-defective mutants revealed that the expression of the genes encoding the MarR family transcriptional regulator (MarR) and a Rieske 2Fe-2S cluster-containing protein (Orf5) located adjacent to psyI, a gene encoding AHL synthetase, are significantly repressed. Exogenous application of AHL recovered the expression of both marR and orf5 genes in the ΔpsyI mutant, indicating that AHL positively regulates the expression of these genes. To investigate the role of these genes in the virulence of Pta6605, ΔmarR and Δorf5 mutants were generated. Both mutants showed decreased swimming and swarming motilities, decreased survival ability under oxidative and nitrosative stresses and, consequently, reduced virulence on host tobacco plants. Transmission electron micrographs showed that the structure of the cell membranes of ΔmarR and Δorf5 mutants was severely damaged. Furthermore, not only the ratio of dead cells, but also the amount of flagella, extracellular DNA and protein released into the culture supernatant, was significantly increased in both mutants, indicating that the disruption of marR and orf5 genes might induce structural changes in the membrane and cell lysis. Because both mutants showed partly similar expression profiles, both gene products might be involved in the same regulatory cascades that are required for QS-dependent survival under environmentally stressed conditions.

Effects of N-glycosylation site removal in archaellins on the assembly and function of archaella in Methanococcus maripaludis

In Methanococcus maripaludis S2, the swimming organelle, the archaellum, is composed of three archaellins, FlaB1_S2, FlaB2_S2 and FlaB3_S2. All three are modified with an N-linked tetrasaccharide at multiple sites. Disruption of the N-linked glycosylation pathway is known to cause defects in archaella assembly or function. Here, we explored the potential requirement of N-glycosylation of archaellins on archaellation by investigating the effects of eliminating the 4 N-glycosylation sites in the wildtype FlaB2_S2 protein in all possible combinations either by Asn to Glu (N to Q) substitution or Asn to Asp (N to D) substitutions of the N-glycosylation sequon asparagine. The ability of these mutant derivatives to complement a non-archaellated ΔflaB2_S2 strain was examined by electron microscopy (for archaella assembly) and swarm plates (for analysis of swimming). Western blot results showed that all mutated FlaB2_S2 proteins were expressed and of smaller apparent molecular mass compared to wildtype FlaB2_S2, consistent with the loss of glycosylation sites. In the 8 single-site mutant complements, archaella were observed on the surface of Q2, D2 and D4 (numbers after N or Q refer to the 1^st to 4^th glycosylation site). Of the 6 double-site mutation complementations all were archaellated except D1,3. Of the 4 triple-site mutation complements, only D2,3,4 was archaellated. Elimination of all 4 N-glycosylation sites resulted in non-archaellated cells, indicating some minimum amount of archaellin glycosylation was necessary for their incorporation into stable archaella. All complementations that led to a return of archaella also resulted in motile cells with the exception of the D4 version. In addition, a series of FlaB2_S2 scanning deletions each missing 10 amino acids was also generated and tested for their ability to complement the ΔflaB2_S2 strain. While most variants were expressed, none of them restored archaellation, although FlaB2_S2 harbouring a smaller 3-amino acid deletion was able to partially restore archaellation.

Gram-negative flagella glycosylation

Protein glycosylation had been considered as an eccentricity of a few bacteria. However, through advances in analytical methods and genome sequencing, it is now established that bacteria possess both N-linked and O-linked glycosylation pathways. Both glycosylation pathways can modify multiple proteins, flagellins from Archaea and Eubacteria being one of these. Flagella O-glycosylation has been demonstrated in many polar flagellins from Gram-negative bacteria and in only the Gram-positive genera Clostridium and Listeria. Furthermore, O-glycosylation has also been demonstrated in a limited number of lateral flagellins. In this work, we revised the current advances in flagellar glycosylation from Gram-negative bacteria, focusing on the structural diversity of glycans, the O-linked pathway and the biological function of flagella glycosylation.

Comparative analysis of flagellin glycans among pathovars of phytopathogenic Pseudomonas syringae

Flagellin is a principal component of the flagellum filament. Previously, we reported that the flagellin of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605 (Pta6605) was glycosylated by oligosaccharides composed of two or three l-rhamnosyl (l-Rha) residues and a terminal 4,6-dideoxy-4-(3-hydroxybutanamide)-2-O-methylglucopyranosyl residue. In this study, we characterized the chemical structure of flagellin glycans in P. syringae pathovars glycinea race 4 (Pgl4), phaseolicola 1448A (Pph1448A), tomato DC3000 (PtoDC3000), and syringae B728a (PsyB728a). Flagellin glycans were released by hydrazinolysis, labeled on the reducing ends with 2-aminopyridine (PA), and the PA-labeled oligosaccharides were isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography. The purified PA-labeled glycans were analyzed by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. The results showed that the glycans on flagellin of Pgl4, PtoDC3000, and Pph1448A were identical to those of Pta6605, which were characterized previously. The flagellin of PsyB728a is O-glycosylated with a novel trisaccharide identified as 2-acetamide-2-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-3-O-methyl-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-L-rhamnose. Our data indicate that flagellin glycosylation of P. syringae pathovars has universality with little diversity.

Swimming behavior of the monotrichous bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25

Motility is an important trait for some bacteria living in nature and the analyses of it can provide important information on bacterial ecology. While the swimming behavior of peritrichous bacteria such as Escherichia coli has been extensively studied, the monotrichous bacteria such as the soil inhabiting and plant growth promoting bacterium Pseudmonas fluorescens is not very well characterized. Unlike E. coli that is propelled by a left-handed flagella bundle, P. fluorescens SBW25 swims several times faster by rotating a right-handed flagellum. Its swimming pattern is the most sophisticated known so far: it swims forward (run) and backward (backup); it can swiftly 'turn' the run directions or 'reorient' at run-backup transitions; it can 'flip' the cell body continuously or 'hover' in the milieu without translocation. The bacteria swam in circles near flat surfaces with reduced velocity and increased turn frequency. The viscous drag load due to wall effect potentially accounts for the circular motion and velocity change, but not the turn frequency. The flagellation and swimming behavior of P. fluorescens SBW25 show some similarity to Caulobacter, a fresh-water inhabitant, while the complex swimming pattern might be an adaptation to the geometrically restricted rhizo- and phyllospheres.

The main Aeromonas pathogenic factors

The members of the Aeromonas genus are ubiquitous, water-borne bacteria. They have been isolated from marine waters, rivers, lakes, swamps, sediments, chlorine water, water distribution systems, drinking water and residual waters; different types of food, such as meat, fish, seafood, vegetables, and processed foods. Aeromonas strains are predominantly pathogenic to poikilothermic animals, and the mesophilic strains are emerging as important pathogens in humans, causing a variety of extraintestinal and systemic infections as well as gastrointestinal infections. The most commonly described disease caused by Aeromonas is the gastroenteritis; however, no adequate animal model is available to reproduce this illness caused by Aeromonas. The main pathogenic factors associated with Aeromonas are: surface polysaccharides (capsule, lipopolysaccharide, and glucan), S-layers, iron-binding systems, exotoxins and extracellular enzymes, secretion systems, fimbriae and other nonfilamentous adhesins, motility and flagella.

Type IV pilin is glycosylated in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605 and is required for surface motility and virulence

Type IV pilin (PilA) is a major constituent of pilus and is required for bacterial biofilm formation, surface motility and virulence. It is known that mature PilA is produced by cleavage of the short leader sequence of the pilin precursor, followed by methylation of N-terminal phenylalanine. The molecular mass of the PilA mature protein from the tobacco bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605 (Pta 6605) has been predicted to be 12 329 Da from its deduced amino acid sequence. Previously, we have detected PilA as an approximately 13-kDa protein by immunoblot analysis with anti-PilA-specific antibody. In addition, we found the putative oligosaccharide-transferase gene tfpO downstream of pilA. These findings suggest that PilA in Pta 6605 is glycosylated. The defective mutant of tfpO (ΔtfpO) shows reductions in pilin molecular mass, surface motility and virulence towards host tobacco plants. Thus, pilin glycan plays important roles in bacterial motility and virulence. The genetic region around pilA was compared among P. syringae pathovars. The tfpO gene exists in some strains of pathovars tabaci, syringae, lachrymans, mori, actinidiae, maculicola and P. savastanoi pv. savastanoi. However, some strains of pathovars tabaci, syringae, glycinea, tomato, aesculi and oryzae do not possess tfpO, and the existence of tfpO is independent of the classification of pathovars/strains in P. syringae. Interestingly, the PilA amino acid sequences in tfpO-possessing strains show higher homology with each other than with tfpO-nonpossessing strains. These results suggest that tfpO and pilA might co-evolve in certain specific bacterial strains.

Novel genes involved in Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf0-1 motility and biofilm formation

AdnA in Pseudomonas fluorescens, an ortholog of FleQ in P. aeruginosa, regulates both motility and flagellum-mediated attachment to various surfaces. A whole-genome microarray determined the AdnA transcriptome by comparing the gene expression pattern of wild-type Pf0-1 to that of Pf0-2x (adnA deletion mutant) in broth culture. In the absence of AdnA, expression of 92 genes was decreased, while 11 genes showed increased expression. Analysis of 16 of these genes fused to lacZ confirmed the microarray results. Several genes were further evaluated for their role in motility and biofilm formation. Two genes, Pfl01_1508 and Pfl01_1517, affected motility and had different effects on biofilm formation in Pf0-1. These two genes are predicted to specify proteins similar to the glycosyl transferases FgtA1 and FgtA2, which have been shown to be involved in virulence and motility in P. syringae. Three other genes, Pfl01_1516, Pfl01_1572, and Pfl01_1573, not previously associated with motility and biofilm formation in Pseudomonas had similar effects on biofilm formation in Pf0-1. Deletion of each of these genes led to different motility defects. Our data revealed an additional level of complexity in the control of flagellum function beyond the core genes known to be required and may yield insights into processes important for environmental persistence of P. fluorescens Pf0-1.

Pseudomonas syringae coordinates production of a motility-enabling surfactant with flagellar assembly

Using a sensitive assay, we observed low levels of an unknown surfactant produced by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae B728a that was not detected by traditional methods yet enabled swarming motility in a strain that exhibited deficient production of syringafactin, the main characterized surfactant produced by P. syringae. Random mutagenesis of the syringafactin-deficient strain revealed an acyltransferase with homology to rhlA from Pseudomonas aeruginosa that was required for production of this unidentified surfactant, subsequently characterized by mass spectrometry as 3-(3-hydroxyalkanoyloxy) alkanoic acid (HAA). Analysis of other mutants with altered surfactant production revealed that HAA is coordinately regulated with the late-stage flagellar gene encoding flagellin; mutations in genes involved in early flagellar assembly abolish or reduce HAA production, while mutations in flagellin or flagellin glycosylation genes increase its production. When colonizing a hydrated porous surface, the bacterium increases production of both flagellin and HAA. P. syringae was defective in porous-paper colonization without functional flagella and was slightly inhibited in this movement when it lacked surfactant production. Loss of HAA production in a syringafactin-deficient strain had no effect on swimming but abolished swarming motility. In contrast, a strain that lacked HAA but retained syringafactin production exhibited broad swarming tendrils, while a syringafactin-producing strain that overproduced HAA exhibited slender swarming tendrils. On the basis of further analysis of mutants altered in HAA production, we discuss its regulation in Pseudomonas syringae.

Role of type IV pili in virulence of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605: correlation of motility, multidrug resistance, and HR-inducing activity on a nonhost plant

To investigate the role of type IV pili in the virulence of phytopathogenic bacteria, four mutant strains for pilus biogenesis-related genes were generated in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605. PilA encodes the pilin protein as a major subunit of type IV pili, and the pilO product is reported to be required for pilus assembly. The fimU and fimT genes are predicted to produce minor pilins. Western blot analysis revealed that pilA, pilO, and fimU mutants but not the fimT mutant failed to construct type IV pili. Although the swimming motility of all mutant strains was not impaired in liquid medium, they showed remarkably reduced motilities on semisolid agar medium, suggesting that type IV pili are required for surface motilities. Virulence toward host tobacco plants and hypersensitive response-inducing ability in nonhost Arabidopsis leaves of pilA, pilO, and fimU mutant strains were reduced. These results might be a consequence of reduced expression of type III secretion system-related genes in the mutant strains. Further, all mutant strains showed enhanced expression of resistance-nodulation-division family members mexA, mexB, and oprM, and higher tolerance to antimicrobial compounds. These results indicate that type IV pili are an important virulence factor of this pathogen.

Characterization of lateral flagella of Selenomonas ruminantium

Selenomonas ruminantium produces a tuft of flagella near the midpoint of the cell body and swims by rotating the cell body along the cell's long axis. The flagellum is composed of a single kind of flagellin, which is heavily glycosylated. The hook length of S. ruminantium is almost double that of Salmonella.

Two flagellar stators and their roles in motility and virulence in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605

The motor proteins around the flagellar basal body consist of two cytoplasmic membrane proteins, MotA and MotB, and function as a complex that acts as the stator to generate the torque that drives rotation. Genome analysis of several Pseudomonas syringae pathovars revealed that there are two sets of genes encoding motor proteins: motAB and motCD. Deduced amino acid sequences for MotA/B and MotC/D showed homologies to the H(+)-driven stator from Escherichia coli and Na(+)-driven stator from Vibrio alginolyticus, respectively. However, the swimming motility of P. syringae pv. tabaci (Pta) 6605 was inhibited by the protonophore carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone but not by the sodium stator-specific inhibitor phenamil. To identify a gene encoding the stator protein required for motility, ∆motAB, ∆motCD, and ∆motABCD mutants were generated. The ∆motCD mutant had remarkably reduced and the ∆motABCD mutant completely abolished swimming motilities, whereas the ∆motAB mutant retained some degree of these abilities. The ∆motCD and ∆motABCD mutants did not produce N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs), quorum-sensing molecules in this pathogen, and remarkably reduced the ability to cause disease in host tobacco leaves, as we previously observed in the ∆fliC mutant strain. These results strongly indicate that both stator pairs in Pta 6605 are proton-dependent and that MotCD is important for not only flagellar motility but also for production of AHLs and the ability to cause disease in host plants.

Effects of galU mutation on Pseudomonas syringae-plant interactions

Bacterial galU coding for a uridine diphosphate-glucose pyrophosphorylase plays an important role in carbohydrates biosynthesis, including synthesis of lipopolysaccharides (LPS), membrane-derived oligosaccharides, and capsular polysaccharides. In this study, we characterized the galU mutant of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae 61 (Psy61), a necrotizing plant pathogen whose pathogenicity depends on a functional type III secretion system (T3SS), and showed that the Psy61 galU mutant had reduced biofilm formation ability, was nonmotile, and had an assembled T3SS structure but failed to elicit hypersensitive response in resistant plants and necrotic lesions in susceptible plants. Moreover, the defective LPS and other pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) on the surface of the Psy61 galU mutant were capable of inducing PAMP-triggered immunity, which severely compromised the ability of the Psy61 galU mutant to survive in planta. Our results demonstrated that the complete LPS protected plant-pathogenic bacteria from host innate immunity, similar to what was found in animal pathogens, prior to the translocation of T3S effectors and bacterial multiplication.

Evolution of metabolic network organization

Background

Comparison of metabolic networks across species is a key to understanding how evolutionary pressures shape these networks. By selecting taxa representative of different lineages or lifestyles and using a comprehensive set of descriptors of the structure and complexity of their metabolic networks, one can highlight both qualitative and quantitative differences in the metabolic organization of species subject to distinct evolutionary paths or environmental constraints.

Results

We used a novel representation of metabolic networks, termed network of interacting pathways or NIP, to focus on the modular, high-level organization of the metabolic capabilities of the cell. Using machine learning techniques we identified the most relevant aspects of cellular organization that change under evolutionary pressures. We considered the transitions from prokarya to eukarya (with a focus on the transitions among the archaea, bacteria and eukarya), from unicellular to multicellular eukarya, from free living to host-associated bacteria, from anaerobic to aerobic, as well as the acquisition of cell motility or growth in an environment of various levels of salinity or temperature. Intuitively, we expect organisms with more complex lifestyles to have more complex and robust metabolic networks. Here we demonstrate for the first time that such organisms are not only characterized by larger, denser networks of metabolic pathways but also have more efficiently organized cross communications, as revealed by subtle changes in network topology. These changes are unevenly distributed among metabolic pathways, with specific categories of pathways being promoted to more central locations as an answer to environmental constraints.

Conclusions

Combining methods from graph theory and machine learning, we have shown here that evolutionary pressures not only affects gene and protein sequences, but also specific details of the complex wiring of functional modules in the cell. This approach allows the identification and quantification of those changes, and provides an overview of the evolution of intracellular systems.

Defects in flagellin glycosylation affect the virulence of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605

Flagellar motility and its glycosylation are indispensable for the virulence of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605. Six serine residues of the flagellin protein at positions 143, 164, 176, 183, 193 and 201 are glycosylated, and the glycan structure at 201 was determined to consist of a trisaccharide of two L-rhamnosyl residues and a modified 4-amino-4,6-dideoxyglucosyl (viosamine) residue. To investigate the glycan structures attached to the other serine residues and to identify the glycans important for virulence, Ser/Ala-substituted mutants were generated. Six mutant strains that each retained a single glycosylated serine residue were generated by replacing five of the six serine residues with alanine residues. MALDI-TOF mass analysis of flagellin proteins revealed that the major component of each glycan was a trisaccharide basically similar to that at position 201, but with heterogeneity in glycoform distribution. Swarming motility and amounts of acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) as quorum-sensing signal molecules were significantly reduced, especially in the S143-5S/A, S164-5S/A and S201-5S/A mutants, whereas tolerance to antibiotics was increased in these three mutants. All the mutants showed lower ability to cause disease on host tobacco plants. These results supported our previous finding that glycosylation of the most externally located sites on the surface of the flagellin molecule, such as S176 and S183, is required for virulence in P. syringae pv. tabaci 6605. Furthermore, it is speculated that flagellum-dependent motility might be correlated with quorum sensing and antibiotic resistance.

Amino acid substitutions and intragenic duplications of Bacillus sp. PS3 flagellin cause complementation of the Bacillus subtilis flagellin deletion mutant

Bacillus sp. PS3 produces a glycosylated flagellin. In this study, a number of the glycosylated residues of the flagellin protein were found to be located in the central variable region of this protein. We also report that the motility defect of the Bacillus subtilis flagellin mutant was complemented by Bacillus sp. PS3 flagellin variants without glycosylation, which contained amino acid substitutions and intragenic duplications in the variable region of flagellin.

A draft genome sequence and functional screen reveals the repertoire of type III secreted proteins of Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tabaci 11528

Background

Pseudomonas syringae is a widespread bacterial pathogen that causes disease on a broad range of economically important plant species. Pathogenicity of P. syringae strains is dependent on the type III secretion system, which secretes a suite of up to about thirty virulence 'effector' proteins into the host cytoplasm where they subvert the eukaryotic cell physiology and disrupt host defences. P. syringae pathovar tabaci naturally causes disease on wild tobacco, the model member of the Solanaceae, a family that includes many crop species as well as on soybean.

Results

We used the 'next-generation' Illumina sequencing platform and the Velvet short-read assembly program to generate a 145X deep 6,077,921 nucleotide draft genome sequence for P. syringae pathovar tabaci strain 11528. From our draft assembly, we predicted 5,300 potential genes encoding proteins of at least 100 amino acids long, of which 303 (5.72%) had no significant sequence similarity to those encoded by the three previously fully sequenced P. syringae genomes. Of the core set of Hrp Outer Proteins that are conserved in three previously fully sequenced P. syringae strains, most were also conserved in strain 11528, including AvrE1, HopAH2, HopAJ2, HopAK1, HopAN1, HopI, HopJ1, HopX1, HrpK1 and HrpW1. However, the hrpZ1 gene is partially deleted and hopAF1 is completely absent in 11528. The draft genome of strain 11528 also encodes close homologues of HopO1, HopT1, HopAH1, HopR1, HopV1, HopAG1, HopAS1, HopAE1, HopAR1, HopF1, and HopW1 and a degenerate HopM1'. Using a functional screen, we confirmed that hopO1, hopT1, hopAH1, hopM1', hopAE1, hopAR1, and hopAI1' are part of the virulence-associated HrpL regulon, though the hopAI1' and hopM1' sequences were degenerate with premature stop codons. We also discovered two additional HrpL-regulated effector candidates and an HrpL-regulated distant homologue of avrPto1.

Conclusion

The draft genome sequence facilitates the continued development of P. syringae pathovar tabaci on wild tobacco as an attractive model system for studying bacterial disease on plants. The catalogue of effectors sheds further light on the evolution of pathogenicity and host-specificity as well as providing a set of molecular tools for the study of plant defence mechanisms. We also discovered several large genomic regions in Pta 11528 that do not share detectable nucleotide sequence similarity with previously sequenced Pseudomonas genomes. These regions may include horizontally acquired islands that possibly contribute to pathogenicity or epiphytic fitness of Pta 11528.

The elastic basis for the shape of Borrelia burgdorferi

The mechanisms that determine bacterial shape are in many ways poorly understood. A prime example is the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi), which mechanically couples its motility organelles, helical flagella, to its rod-shaped cell body, producing a striking flat-wave morphology. A mathematical model is developed here that accounts for the elastic coupling of the flagella to the cell cylinder and shows that the flat-wave morphology is in fact a natural consequence of the geometrical and material properties of the components. Observations of purified periplasmic flagella show two flagellar conformations. The mathematical model suggests that the larger waveform flagellum is the more relevant for determining the shape of B. burgdorferi. Optical trapping experiments were used to measure directly the mechanical properties of these spirochetes. These results imply relative stiffnesses of the two components, which confirm the predictions of the model and show that the morphology of B. burgdorferi is completely determined by the elastic properties of the flagella and cell body. This approach is applicable to a variety of other structures in which the shape of the composite system is markedly different from that of the individual components, such as coiled-coil domains in proteins and the eukaryotic axoneme.

Cloning and characterization of flagellin genes and identification of flagellin glycosylation from thermophilic Bacillus species

Flagellin glycosylation was identified in Bacillus sp. PS3 and Geobacillus stearothermophilus. In vivo complementation showed that these flagellin genes did not restore the motility of a Bacillus subtilis flagellin mutant, whereas the genes encoding non-glycosylated flagellin from Geobacillus kaustophilus and Bacillus sp. Kps3 restored motility. Moreover, four types of flagellins expressed in B. subtilis were not glycosylated. We speculate that glycosylation is required for flagellar filament assembly of these bacilli.

Amino acid sequence of bacterial microbe-associated molecular pattern flg22 is required for virulence

Flagellin proteins derived from Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605 and flg22Pa (QRLSTGSRINSAKDDAAGLQIA), one of the microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMP) in bacterial flagellin, induce cell death and growth inhibition in Arabidopsis thaliana. To examine the importance of aspartic acid (D) at position 43 from the N-terminus of a flagellin in its elicitor activity, D43 was replaced with valine (V) and alanine (A) in P. syringae pv. tabaci flagellin and flg22Pta. The abilities of flagellins from P. syringae pv. tabaci D43V and D43A to induce cell death and growth inhibition were reduced, whereas the abilities of flg22PtaD43V and flg22PtaD43A were abolished. These results indicate that D43 is important for elicitor activity in P. syringae pv. tabaci. When tobacco plants were inoculated with each bacterium by the spray method, both P. syringae pv. tabaci D43V and D43A mutants had remarkably reduced ability to cause disease symptoms. Both mutants had reduced or no swimming and swarming motilities and adhesion ability. In P. syringae pv. tabaci D43V, little flagellin protein was detected and few flagella were observed by electron microscopy. These results indicate that mutant flagella are unstable and that flagellar motility is impaired. Thus, the amino acid residue required for MAMP activity is important for the intrinsic flagellar function.