scholarly journals Phyllosphere-inhabiting endophytic bacteria feature a stationary phase-like lifestyle

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
André C Velásquez ◽  
José C Huguet-Tapia ◽  
Sheng Yang He

Plants are in constant association with a variety of microbes, and although much is known about how symbiotic and pathogenic microbes interact with plants, less is known about the population dynamics, adaptive traits, and transcriptional features of endophytic commensal microbes that live inside leaves. In this study, we evaluated the long-term population and transcriptional dynamics of two bacterial microbiota endophytes and compared them to those of a commensal-simulating non-pathogenic mutant of the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. We found that population densities of all three endophytic phyllosphere bacteria remained static over a long period of time, which was caused by a continual equilibrium between bacterial multiplication and death, as evidenced by treatment of plants with antibiotics that only targeted dividing bacteria or by in planta visualization of bacteria carrying a fluorescent division reporter. Population stasis could not be explained by a lack of resources, as Arabidopsis leaves could support population densities up to 100 times higher than the normal microbiota populations, nor was population stasis reversed by significantly quenching PAMP-triggered immunity. Long-term temporal in planta transcriptomic analysis of these three bacterial endophytes revealed up-regulation of protein translation, the generation of energy, and the response to stress, and interestingly, for the microbiota strains, the longer the bacteria remained inside plants, the greater the up-regulation of some of these processes. Further transcriptomic analysis of in planta populations of commensal-simulating Pseudomonas syringae revealed a remarkable resemblance to those of in vitro bacteria in stationary phase, a metabolically active physiological state in which the production of secondary metabolites and stress responses are induced. This study provides novel insight into how endophytic bacteria survive and thrive inside plant leaves, and reshapes our current understanding of what it means to be part of the endophytic microbiota in the phyllosphere.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sotaro Takano ◽  
Hiromi Takahashi ◽  
Yoshie Yama ◽  
Ryo Miyazaki ◽  
Saburo Tsuru

ABSTRACTBackground“Non-growing” is a dominant life form of microorganisms in nature, where available nutrients and resources are extremely limited. However, the knowledge of the manner in which microorganisms resist nutrient deficiency is still rudimentary compared to those of the growing cells. In laboratory culture, Escherichia coli can survive for several years under starvation, denoted as long-term stationary phase (LSP), where a small fraction of the cells survive by recycling resources released from the starved nonviable cells and constitute a model system for understanding survival mechanisms under long-term starvation. Although the physiology by which viable cells in LSP adapt to long-term starvation is of great interest, their genome-wide response has not yet been fully understood.ResultsTo understand the physiological state of viable cells in the LSP environment, we analyzed the transcriptional profiles of cells exposed to the supernatant of LSP culture. We found that high expression of transporter genes and low expression of biosynthesis genes are the primary responses of the cells in the LSP supernatant compared to growing cells, which display similar responses to cells entering the stationary phase from the exponential growth phase. We also revealed some specific transcriptional responses in the LSP supernatant, such as higher expression of stress-response genes and lower expression of translation-related genes, compared to other non-growing conditions. This suggests that cells in LSP are highly efficient in terms of cellular survival and maintenance functions under starvation conditions. We also found population-density-dependent gene expression profiles in LSP, which are also informative to understand the survival mechanism of bacterial population.ConclusionOur current comprehensive analysis of the transcriptome of E. coli cells provides an overview of the genome-wide response to the long-term starvation environment. We detected both common and distinctive responses in the primary transcriptional changes between the short- and long-term stationary phase cultures, which could provide clues to understand the possible molecular mechanisms underlying survivability in the starved environment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Liu ◽  
Menghao Yu ◽  
Yixin Ge ◽  
Yanli Tian ◽  
Baishi Hu ◽  
...  

The post-transcriptional regulator RsmA globally controls gene expression in bacteria. Previous studies showed that RsmA2 and RsmA3 played critical roles in regulating type III secretion system (T3SS), motility, syringafactin, and alginate productions in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato strain DC3000 (PstDC3000). In this study, we investigated global gene expression profiles of the wild-type PstDC3000, the rsmA3 mutant, and the rsmA2/A3 double mutant in the hrp-inducing minimum medium (HMM) and King’s B (KB) medium. By comparing the rsmA2/A3 and rsmA3 mutants to PstDC3000, a total of 1358 and 1074 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in HMM, and 870 and 1463 DEGs in KB were uncovered, respectively. When comparing the rsmA2/A3 mutant with the rsmA3 mutant, 277 and 741 DEGs in HMM and KB, respectively, were revealed. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that the rsmY, rsmZ, and rsmX1-5 non-coding small RNAs (ncsRNAs) were positively affected by RsmA2 and RsmA3, while RsmA3 positively regulates the expression of the rsmA2 gene and negatively regulates both rsmA1 and rsmA5 gene expression. Comparative transcriptomic analysis showed that RsmA2 and RsmA3 synergistically influenced the expression of genes involved in T3SS and alginate biosynthesis in HMM and chemotaxis in KB. RsmA2 and RsmA3 inversely affected genes involved in syringafactin production in HMM and ribosomal protein biosynthesis in KB. In addition, RsmA2 played a major role in influencing genes involved in sarcosine and thiamine biosynthesis in HMM and in mannitol and phosphate metabolism in KB. On the other hand, genes involved in fatty acid metabolism, cellulose biosynthesis, signal transduction, and stress responses were mainly impacted by RsmA3 in both HMM and KB; whereas RsmA3 played a major role in controlling genes involved in c-di-GMP, phosphate metabolism, chemotaxis, and capsular polysaccharide in HMM. Furthermore, regulation of syringafactin production and oxidative stress by RsmA2 and RsmA3 was experimentally verified. Our results suggested the potential interplay among the RsmA proteins, which exhibit distinct and overlapping roles in modulating virulence and survival in P. syringae under different nutritional conditions.


2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (11) ◽  
pp. 4204-4216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Sauviac ◽  
Heinui Philippe ◽  
Kounthéa Phok ◽  
Claude Bruand

ABSTRACT Sinorhizobium meliloti genes transcriptionally up-regulated after heat stress, as well as upon entry into stationary phase, were identified by microarray analyses. Sixty stress response genes were thus found to be up-regulated under both conditions. One of them, rpoE2 (smc01506), encodes a putative extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma factor. We showed that this sigma factor controls its own transcription and is activated by various stress conditions, including heat and salt, as well as entry into stationary phase after either carbon or nitrogen starvation. We also present evidence that the product of the gene cotranscribed with rpoE2 negatively regulates RpoE2 activity, and we therefore propose that it plays the function of anti-sigma factor. By combining transcriptomic, bioinformatic, and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR analyses, we identified 44 RpoE2-controlled genes and predicted the number of RpoE2 targets to be higher. Strikingly, more than one-third of the 60 stress response genes identified in this study are RpoE2 targets. Interestingly, two genes encoding proteins with known functions in stress responses, namely, katC and rpoH2, as well as a second ECF-encoding gene, rpoE5, were found to be RpoE2 regulated. Altogether, these data suggest that RpoE2 is a major global regulator of the general stress response in S. meliloti. Despite these observations, and although this sigma factor is well conserved among alphaproteobacteria, no in vitro nor in planta phenotypic difference from the wild-type strain could be detected for rpoE2 mutants. This therefore suggests that other important actors in the general stress response have still to be identified in S. meliloti.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-34
Author(s):  
K. Korobkova ◽  
V. Patyka

Contemporary state of the distribution of mycoplasma diseases of cultivated crops in Ukraine was analyzed. The changes of the physiological state of plant cells under the impact of mollicutes were investigated. It was demonstrated that there is temporary increase in the activity of peroxidase, catalase, polyphenoloxidase, phenylalanine-ammonia-lyase at the early stages of interaction. The adhesive properties are changed in the mollicutes under the impact of plant lectin; there is synthesis of new polypeptides. It was determined that the phytopathogenic acholeplasma is capable of producing a complex of proteolytic enzymes into the culture me- dium. It was concluded that when plant cells are infected with acholeplasma, a number of signaling interactions and metabolic transformations condition the recognition of pathogenesis and ensure the aggregate response of a plant to stress in the form of defense reactions. It was assumed that some specifi cities of the biology of phy- topathogenic acholeplasma determine their avoiding the immune mechanisms of plants and promote long-term persistence of mollicutes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 1434
Author(s):  
Pieter Wytynck ◽  
Jeroen Lambin ◽  
Simin Chen ◽  
Sinem Demirel Asci ◽  
Isabel Verbeke ◽  
...  

Ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) are a class of cytotoxic enzymes that can inhibit protein translation by depurinating rRNA. Most plant RIPs are synthesized with a leader sequence that sequesters the proteins to a cell compartment away from the host ribosomes. However, several rice RIPs lack these signal peptides suggesting they reside in the cytosol in close proximity to the plant ribosomes. This paper aims to elucidate the physiological function of two nucleocytoplasmic RIPs from rice, in particular, the type 1 RIP referred to as OsRIP1 and a presumed type 3 RIP called nuRIP. Transgenic rice lines overexpressing these RIPs were constructed and studied for developmental effects resulting from this overexpression under greenhouse conditions. In addition, the performance of transgenic seedlings in response to drought, salt, abscisic acid and methyl jasmonate treatment was investigated. Results suggest that both RIPs can affect methyl jasmonate mediated stress responses.


Author(s):  
Mara Quaglia ◽  
Marika Bocchini ◽  
Benedetta Orfei ◽  
Roberto D’Amato ◽  
Franco Famiani ◽  
...  

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to determine whether zinc phosphate treatments of tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.) can attenuate bacterial speck disease severity through reduction of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) growth in planta and induce morphological and biochemical plant defence responses. Tomato plants were treated with 10 ppm (25.90 µM) zinc phosphate and then spray inoculated with strain DAPP-PG 215, race 0 of Pst. Disease symptoms were recorded as chlorosis and/or necrosis per leaf (%) and as numbers of necrotic spots. Soil treatments with zinc phosphate protected susceptible tomato plants against Pst, with reductions in both disease severity and pathogen growth in planta. The reduction of Pst growth in planta combined with significantly higher zinc levels in zinc-phosphate-treated plants indicated direct antimicrobial toxicity of this microelement, as also confirmed by in vitro assays. Morphological (i.e. callose apposition) and biochemical (i.e., expression of salicylic-acid-dependent pathogenesis-related protein PR1b1 gene) defence responses were induced by the zinc phosphate treatment, as demonstrated by histochemical and qPCR analyses, respectively. In conclusion, soil treatments with zinc phosphate can protect tomato plants against Pst attacks through direct antimicrobial activity and induction of morphological and biochemical plant defence responses.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2643
Author(s):  
Mohamed F. Hassan ◽  
Abdelrahman M. Qutb ◽  
Wubei Dong

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small molecules consisting of less than fifty residues of amino acids. Plant AMPs establish the first barrier of defense in the innate immune system in response to invading pathogens. The purpose of this study was to isolate new AMPs from the Zea mays L. inbred line B73 and investigate their antimicrobial activities and mechanisms against certain essential plant pathogenic bacteria. In silico, the Collection of Anti-Microbial Peptides (CAMPR3), a computational AMP prediction server, was used to screen a cDNA library for AMPs. A ZM-804 peptide, isolated from the Z. mays L. inbred line B73 cDNA library, was predicted as a new cationic AMP with high prediction values. ZM-804 was tested against eleven pathogens of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and exhibited high antimicrobial activities as determined by the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs). A confocal laser scanning microscope observation showed that the ZM-804 AMP targets bacterial cell membranes. SEM and TEM images revealed the disruption and damage of the cell membrane morphology of Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) DC3000 caused by ZM-804. In planta, ZM-804 demonstrated antimicrobial activity and prevented the infection of tomato plants by Pst DC3000. Moreover, four virulent phytopathogenic bacteria were prevented from inducing hypersensitive response (HR) in tobacco leaves in response to low ZM-804 concentrations. ZM-804 exhibits low hemolytic activity against mouse red blood cells (RBCs) and is relatively safe for mammalian cells. In conclusion, the ZM-804 peptide has a strong antibacterial activity and provides an alternative tool for plant disease control. Additionally, the ZM-804 peptide is considered a promising candidate for human and animal drug development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 5349
Author(s):  
Mayes Alswady-Hoff ◽  
Johanna Samulin Erdem ◽  
Santosh Phuyal ◽  
Oskar Knittelfelder ◽  
Animesh Sharma ◽  
...  

There is little in vitro data available on long-term effects of TiO2 exposure. Such data are important for improving the understanding of underlying mechanisms of adverse health effects of TiO2. Here, we exposed pulmonary epithelial cells to two doses (0.96 and 1.92 µg/cm2) of TiO2 for 13 weeks and effects on cell cycle and cell death mechanisms, i.e., apoptosis and autophagy were determined after 4, 8 and 13 weeks of exposure. Changes in telomere length, cellular protein levels and lipid classes were also analyzed at 13 weeks of exposure. We observed that the TiO2 exposure increased the fraction of cells in G1-phase and reduced the fraction of cells in G2-phase, which was accompanied by an increase in the fraction of late apoptotic/necrotic cells. This corresponded with an induced expression of key apoptotic proteins i.e., BAD and BAX, and an accumulation of several lipid classes involved in cellular stress and apoptosis. These findings were further supported by quantitative proteome profiling data showing an increase in proteins involved in cell stress and genomic maintenance pathways following TiO2 exposure. Altogether, we suggest that cell stress response and cell death pathways may be important molecular events in long-term health effects of TiO2.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (14) ◽  
pp. 7440
Author(s):  
Shraddha K. Dahale ◽  
Daipayan Ghosh ◽  
Kishor D. Ingole ◽  
Anup Chugani ◽  
Sang Hee Kim ◽  
...  

Pseudomonas syringae-secreted HopA1 effectors are important determinants in host range expansion and increased pathogenicity. Their recent acquisitions via horizontal gene transfer in several non-pathogenic Pseudomonas strains worldwide have caused alarming increase in their virulence capabilities. In Arabidopsis thaliana, RESISTANCE TO PSEUDOMONAS SYRINGAE 6 (RPS6) gene confers effector-triggered immunity (ETI) against HopA1pss derived from P. syringae pv. syringae strain 61. Surprisingly, a closely related HopA1pst from the tomato pathovar evades immune detection. These responsive differences in planta between the two HopA1s represents a unique system to study pathogen adaptation skills and host-jumps. However, molecular understanding of HopA1′s contribution to overall virulence remain undeciphered. Here, we show that immune-suppressive functions of HopA1pst are more potent than HopA1pss. In the resistance-compromised ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY 1 (EDS1) null-mutant, transcriptomic changes associated with HopA1pss-elicited ETI are still induced and carry resemblance to PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI) signatures. Enrichment of HopA1pss interactome identifies proteins with regulatory roles in post-transcriptional and translational processes. With our demonstration here that both HopA1 suppress reporter-gene translations in vitro imply that the above effector-associations with plant target carry inhibitory consequences. Overall, with our results here we unravel possible virulence role(s) of HopA1 in suppressing PTI and provide newer insights into its detection in resistant plants.


2019 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-35
Author(s):  
Krissana Boonpa ◽  
Suparuk Tantong ◽  
Kamonwan Weerawanich ◽  
Pawinee Panpetch ◽  
Onanong Pringsulaka ◽  
...  

Thionins are a family of antimicrobial peptides. We performed in silico expression analyses of the 44 rice (Oryza sativa) thionins (OsTHIONs). Modulated expression levels of OsTHIONs under different treatments suggest their involvement in many processes, including biotic, abiotic, and nutritional stress responses, and in hormone signaling. OsTHION15 (LOC_Os06g32600) was selected for further characterization based on several in silico analyses. OsTHION15 in O. sativa subsp. indica ‘KDML 105’ was expressed in all of the tissues and organs examined, including germinating seed, leaves, and roots of seedlings and mature plants, and inflorescences. To investigate the antimicrobial activity of OsTHION15, we produced a recombinant peptide in Escherichia coli Rosetta-gami (DE3). The recombinant OsTHION15 exhibited inhibitory activities toward rice-pathogenic bacteria such as Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and Pectobacterium carotovorum pv. atroseptica, with minimum inhibitory concentrations of 112.6 and 14.1 µg ml−1, respectively. A significant hyphal growth inhibition was also observed toward Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense and Helminthosporium oryzae. In addition, we demonstrated the in planta antibacterial activity of this peptide in Nicotiana benthamiana against X. campestris pv. glycines. These activities suggest the possible application of OsTHION15 in plant disease control.


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