Agglutination, adherence, and root colonization by fluorescent pseudomonads

Two fractions of agglutination activity towards fluorescent pseudomonads were detected in root washes of potato, tomato, wheat, and bean. High-molecular-mass (>10 Da) components in crude root washes agglutinated only particular saprophytic, fluorescent Pseudomonas isolates. Ion-exchange treatment of the crude root washes resulted in preparations of lower-molecular-mass (10 to 10 Da) fractions which agglutinated almost all Pseudomonas isolates examined. Also, components able to suppress agglutination reactions of pseudomonads with the lower-molecular-mass root components were detected in crude root washes of all crops studied. Pseudomonas isolates were differentially agglutinated by both types of root components. The involvement of these two types of root components in short-term adherence and in colonization was studied in potato, tomato, and grass, using Pseudomonas isolates from these crops. Short-term adherence of isolates to roots was independent of their agglutination with either type of root components. With agglutination-negative mutants, the high-molecular-mass components seemed to be involved in adherence of Pseudomonas putida Corvallis to roots of all crops studied. Short-term adherence to roots of four Pseudomonas isolates could be influenced by addition of both crude and ion-exchange-treated root washes, depending on their agglutination phenotype with these root wash preparations. Potato root colonization by 10 different isolates from this crop, over a period of 7 days, was not correlated with their agglutination phenotype. Agg mutants of P. putida Corvallis were not impaired in root colonization. It is concluded that the root agglutinins studied can be involved in short-term adherence of pseudomonads to roots but do not play a decisive role in their root colonization.

Effect of Surface-Active Pseudomonas spp. on Leaf Wettability

Different strains of Pseudomonas putida and P. fluorescens isolated from the rhizosphere and phyllosphere were tested for surface activity in droplet cultures on polystyrene. Droplets of 6 of the 12 wild types tested spread over the surface during incubation, and these strains were considered surface active; strains not showing this reaction were considered non-surface active. Similar reactions were observed on pieces of wheat leaves. Supernatants from centrifuged broth cultures behaved like droplets of suspensions in broth; exposure to 100 degrees C destroyed the activity. Average contact angles of the supernatants of surface-active and non-surface-active strains on polystyrene were 24 degrees and 72 degrees , respectively. The minimal surface tension of supernatants of the surface-active strains was about 46 mN/m, whereas that of the non-surface-active strains was 64 mN/m (estimations from Zisman plots). After 6 days of incubation, wheat flag leaves sprayed with a dilute suspension of a surface-active strain of P. putida (WCS 358RR) showed a significant increase in leaf wettability, which was determined by contact angle measurements. Increasing the initial concentration of bacteria and the amount of nutrients in the inoculum sprayed on leaves reduced the contact angles from 138 degrees on leaves treated with antibiotics (control) to 43 degrees on leaves treated with surface-active bacteria. A closely related strain with no surface activity on polystyrene did not affect leaf wettability, although it was present in densities similar to those of the surface-active strain. Nutrients alone could occasionally also increase leaf wettability, apparently by stimulating naturally occurring surface-active bacteria. When estimating densities of Pseudomonas spp. underneath droplets with low contact angles, it appeared that populations on leaves treated with a surface-active strain could vary from about 10 to 10 CFU cm, suggesting that the surface effect may be prolonged after a decline of the population. The possible ecological implications are discussed.

Siderophore receptor PupA as a marker to monitor wild-type Pseudomonas putida WCS358 in natural environments

For application of genetically engineered fluorescent Pseudomonas spp., specific markers are required for monitoring of wild-type Pseudomonas strains and their genetically modified derivatives in natural environments. In this study, the specific siderophore receptor PupA of plant growth-promoting Pseudomonas putida WCS358 was used as a marker to monitor wild-type strain WCS358. After introduction into natural soil and rhizosphere environments, strain WCS358 could be recovered efficiently on a medium amended with 300 microM pseudobactin 358. Although low population densisties of indigenous pseudomonads (less than or equal to 10(3)/g of soil or root) were recovered on the pseudobactin 358-amended medium, subsequent agglutination assays with a WCS358-specific polyclonal antiserum enabled accurate monitoring of populations of wild-type strain WCS358 over a range of approximately 10(3) to 10(7) CFU/g of soil or root. Genetic analysis of the background population by PCR and Southern hybridization revealed that natural occurrence of the pupA gene was limited to a very small number of indigenous Pseudomonas spp. which are very closely related to P. putida WCS358. The PupA marker system enabled the study of differences in rhizosphere colonization among wild-type strain WCS358, rifampin-resistant derivative WCS358rr, and Tn5 mutant WCS358::xylE. Chromosomally mediated rifampin resistance did not affect the colonizing ability of P. putida WCS358. However, Tn5 mutant WCS358::xylE colonized the radish rhizosphere significantly less than did its parental strain.

Antagonistic Effect of Nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum Fo47 and Pseudobactin 358 upon Pathogenic Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. dianthi

Pseudobactin production by Pseudomonas putida WCS358 significantly improves biological control of fusarium wilt caused by nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum Fo47b10 (P. Lemanceau, P. A. H. M. Bakker, W. J. de Kogel, C. Alabouvette, and B. Schippers, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 58:2978-2982, 1992). The antagonistic effect of Fo47b10 and purified pseudobactin 358 was studied by using an in vitro bioassay. This bioassay allows studies on interactions among nonpathogenic F. oxysporum Fo47b10, pathogenic F. oxysporum f. sp. dianthi WCS816, and purified pseudobactin 358, the fluorescent siderophore produced by P. putida WCS358. Both nonpathogenic and pathogenic F. oxysporum reduced each other's growth when grown together. However, in these coinoculation experiments, pathogenic F. oxysporum WCS816 was relatively more inhibited in its growth than nonpathogenic F. oxysporum Fo47b10. The antagonism of nonpathogenic F. oxysporum against pathogenic F. oxysporum strongly depends on the ratio of nonpathogenic to pathogenic F. oxysporum densities: the higher this ratio, the stronger the antagonism. This fungal antagonism appears to be mainly associated with the competition for glucose. Pseudobactin 358 reduced the growth of both F. oxysporum strains, whereas ferric pseudobactin 358 did not; antagonism by pseudobactin 358 was then related to competition for iron. However, the pathogenic F. oxysporum strain was more sensitive to this antagonism than the nonpathogenic strain. Pseudobactin 358 reduced the efficiency of glucose metabolism by the fungi. These results suggest that pseudobactin 358 increases the intensity of the antagonism of nonpathogenic F. oxysporum Fo47b10 against pathogenic F. oxysporum WCS816 by making WCS816 more sensitive to the glucose competition by Fo47b10.

Effect of pseudobactin 358 production by Pseudomonas putida WCS358 on suppression of fusarium wilt of carnations by nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum Fo47

Nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum Fo47b10 combined with Pseudomonas putida WCS358 efficiently suppressed fusarium wilt of carnations grown in soilless culture. This suppression was significantly higher than that obtained by inoculation of either antagonistic microorganism alone. The increased suppression obtained by Fo47b10 combined with WCS358 only occurred when Fo47b10 was introduced at a density high enough (at least 10 times higher than that of the pathogen) to be efficient on its own. P. putida WCS358 had no effect on disease severity when inoculated on its own but significantly improved the control achieved with nonpathogenic F. oxysporum Fo47b10. In contrast, a siderophore-negative mutant of WCS358 had no effect on disease severity even in the presence of Fo47b10. Since the densities of both bacterial strains at the root level were similar, the difference between the wild-type WCS358 and the siderophore-negative mutant with regard to the control of fusarium wilt was related to the production of pseudobactin 358. The production of pseudobactin 358 appeared to be responsible for the increased suppression by Fo47b10 combined with WCS358 relative to that with Fo47b10 alone.

Flagella of a plant-growth-stimulating Pseudomonas fluorescens strain are required for colonization of potato roots

The role of motility in the colonization of potato roots by Pseudomonas bacteria was studied. Four Tn5-induced flagella-less mutants of the plant-growth-stimulating P. fluorescens WCS374 appeared to be impaired in their ability to colonize growing potato roots.

Siderophores and outer membrane proteins of antagonistic, plant-growth-stimulating, root-colonizing Pseudomonas spp

As an approach to understanding the molecular basis of the reduction in plant yield depression by root-colonizing Pseudomonas spp. and especially of the role of the bacterial cell surfaces in this process, we characterized 30 plant-root-colonizing Pseudomonas spp. with respect to siderophore production, antagonistic activity, plasmid content, and sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis patterns of their cell envelope proteins. The results showed that all strains produce hydroxamate-type siderophores which, because of the correlation with Fe3+ limitation, are thought to be the major factor responsible for antagonistic activity. Siderophore-negative mutants of two strains had a strongly decreased antagonistic activity. Five strains maintained their antagonistic activity under conditions of iron excess. Analysis of cell envelope protein patterns of cells grown in excess Fe3+ showed that most strains differed from each other, although two classes of similar or identical strains were found. In one case such a class was subdivided on the basis of the patterns of proteins derepressed by iron limitation. Small plasmids were not detected in any of the strains, and only one of the four tested strains contained a large plasmid. Therefore, it is unlikely that the Fe3+ uptake system of the antagonistic strains is usually plasmid encoded.

Isolation and analysis of genes involved in siderophore biosynthesis in plant-growth-stimulating Pseudomonas putida WCS358

The plant-growth-stimulating Pseudomonas putida WCS358 was mutagenized with transposon Tn5. The resulting mutant colony bank was screened for mutants defective in the biosynthesis of the fluorescent siderophore. A total of 28 mutants, divided into six different classes, were isolated that were nonfluorescent or defective in iron acquisition or both. These different types of mutants together with the probable overall structure of the siderophore, i.e., a small peptide chain attached to a fluorescing group, suggest a biosynthetic pathway in which the synthesis of the fluorescing group is preceded by the synthesis of the peptide part. A gene colony bank of P. putida WCS358 was constructed with the broad-host-range cosmid vector pLAFR1. This genomic library, established in Escherichia coli, was mobilized into the 28 individual mutants, screening for transconjugants restored in fluorescence or growth under iron-limiting conditions or both. A total of 13 cosmids were found to complement 13 distinct mutants. The complementation analysis revealed that at least five gene clusters, with a minimum of seven genes, are needed for siderophore biosynthesis. Some of these genes seem to be arranged in an operon-like structure.

Inhibition of chlamydospore production in Fusarium oxysporum by ammonia and high ion concentrations

NH4Cl in a Tris–HCl buffered solution inhibited chlamydospore production in germinated macroconidia of Fusarium oxysporum. KCl, CaCl2, and buffer solutions at higher concentrations were also inhibitory but to a lesser extent. At fixed concentrations of NH4Cl and KCl mixed at different ratios, chlamydospore production decreased with increasing concentrations of [Formula: see text]. This effect was stronger at pH 8.5 than at pH 7.5, suggesting that NH3 is the active component. In conclusion, both NH3 and high ion concentrations can be inhibitory to the production of chlamydospores in salt solutions. No qualitative differences were found between chlamydospores formed at different concentrations of ammonia.

Ammonia-induced mycostasis is not mediated by enhanced release of carbon compounds

Ammonia applied as NH4Cl in a Tris–HCl buffered solution (pH 7.5 or 8.5) reduced germination of conidia of Fusarium solani f. sp. phaseoli at 250 mM NH4Cl (pH 7.5) or 5 mM NH4Cl (pH 8.5) and of conidia of Cochliobolus victoriae at 5, 50, or 250 mM NH4Cl (pH 7.5) or 5 mM NH4Cl (pH 8.5). Under these conditions the rate of 14C release from conidia of these fungi and of Botrytis cinerea, grown on a medium with [14C]glucose, did not increase. It is concluded that no enhanced release of carbon compounds from conidia is involved in ammonia-induced mycostasis.