High-quality mutant libraries of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and X. campestris pv. campestris generated by an efficient transposon mutagenesis system

A novel transposon mutagenesis system for the phytopathogenic bacteria Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) and X. campestris pv. campestris (Xcc) was developed using a Tn5-based transposome. A highly efficient transformation up to 10(6) transformants per microg transposon DNA was obtained. Southern blot and thermal asymmetric interlaced polymerase chain reaction analyses of Tn5 insertion sites suggested a random mode of transposition. The transposition was stable in the transformants for 20 subcultures. Eighteen thousand and 17000 transformants for Xoo and Xcc, respectively, were generated, corresponding to 4X ORF coverage of the genomes. The libraries will facilitate the identification of pathogenicity-related genes as well as functional genomic analysis in Xoo and Xcc.     

水稻条斑病菌胞外多糖相关基因的鉴定

摘要:【目的】前期研究中从Tn5 转座子插入的水稻条斑病菌突变体库中获得了17 个胞外多糖改变的突变体。【方法】本文对这些突变体的Tn5 插入位点和基因类型进行了鉴定。【结果】结果显示,胞外多糖减少的11 个突变体中多数为Tn5 插入在已知的gum、xan 和wxoc 基因簇上,Xoryp_4217、Xoryp_2488 和Xoryp_0918为未知的与胞外多糖产生有关的基因,属首次报道;6 个胞外多糖增多的突变体中,fimO、pilY 和xopQ 与胞外多糖产生有关,但在水稻条斑病菌中未见报道;Xoryp2392、Xoryp_4221 和Xoryp_3511 为首次鉴定,其中Xoryp_3511 仅在水稻黄单胞菌中存在。毒性测定结果显示,胞外多糖减少的突变体在水稻上的毒性变弱,而胞外多糖增加的突变体在水稻上的毒性没有显著变化。【结论】这些结果为进一步分析水稻条斑病菌胞外多糖代谢途径以及与水稻的互作关系奠定了基础。     

野油菜黄单胞菌野油菜致病变种8004菌株wxcA基因与EPS的产量有关

在以前的工作中,采用转座子Tn5 gusA5对野油菜黄单胞菌野油菜致病变种(Xcc)8004菌株进行诱变,获得一批胞外多糖(EPS)合成减少的突变体,对这些突变体的Tn5 gusA5的插入位点进行分析后,发现有两株突变体是wxcA基因不同插入位点的突变体。以前认为wxcA基因与脂多糖(LPS)的O-抗原合成有关而与EPS的合成无关。为明确wxc4基因的功能,对8004菌株的wxcA基因进行缺失,获得的△wxcA突变体的EPS产量与野生型菌株相比,减少了50％,并且一段PCR合成的包含wxcA基因的DNA片段能反式互补△wxcA突变体,恢复突变体的EPS产量。这证实了8004菌株的wxcA基因与EPS的合成产量有关。     

野油菜黄单胞菌野油菜致病变种中一个与EPS合成有关的新基因的鉴定

用转座子Tn5gusA5对野油菜黄单胞菌野油菜致病变种(Xanthomonas campestris pv.campestris,简称Xcc)野生型菌株8004进行诱变,分离到一批胞外多糖(EPS)合成减少的突变体。采用TAIL-PCR(thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR)分析突变体的Tn5gusA5插入位点,发现其中一株编号为151D09的突变体的插入位点位于Xcc 8004菌株的基因组编号为XC3695的ORF内,该ORF功能尚未见报道。序列分析表明,该ORF演绎的编码产物与Serratia marcescens的kdtX基因和Klebsiella pneumoniae的waaE基因演绎的编码产物分别具有52%和50%的相似性,并具有第2家族糖基转移酶的功能域, 因此暂将该ORF命名为waxE基因。用同源双交换方法构建了waxE基因的缺失突变体,并采用PCR和Southern杂交的方法对突变体进行了验证。waxE基因缺失突变体在营养丰富培养基的生长繁殖不受影响,但其EPS产量与野生型菌株8004相比,降低35%左右,并且一段PCR合成的包含waxE基因的DNA片段能反式互补waxE基因缺失突变体,恢复缺失突变体的EPS产量,表明Xcc waxE基因与EPS的生物合成有关。     

Virulence deficiency caused by a transposon insertion in the purH gene of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae causes bacterial leaf blight, a serious disease of rice. We have identified a Tn5-induced virulence-deficient mutant (BXO1704) of X. oryzae pv. oryzae. The BXO1704 mutant exhibited growth deficiency in minimal medium but was proficient in inducing a hypersensitive response in a non-host tomato plant. Sequence analysis of the chromosomal DNA flanking the Tn5 insertion indicated that the Tn5 insertion is in the purH gene, which is highly homologous to purH genes of other closely related plant pathogenic bacteria Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri and Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris. Purine supplementation reversed the growth deficiency of BXO1704 in minimal medium. These results suggest that the virulence deficiency of BXO1704 may be due to the inability to use sufficient purine in the host.     

野油菜黄单胞菌野油菜致病型胞外多糖合成有关的DNA序列的克隆

以从野油菜黄单胞菌野油菜致病型（Xanthomonascampestrispv.campestris）胞外多糖突变体T117中克隆到的含有突变序列的DNA片段作探针,从野生型菌株中鉴定和克隆了含有相应序列的9．4kbHindⅢ片段。该片段可反式互补突变体T117,完全恢复其胞外多糖的合成,说明该片段至少含有一个完整的与该菌胞外多糖合成有关的基因。     

十字花科黑腐病菌中影响致病相关基因XC3814表达的基因鉴定

十字花科黑腐病菌8004菌株的XC3814基因与致病性和胞外多糖合成有关。文章将XC3814的启动子与报告基因sacB融合, 构建了XC3814的表达报告质粒pL3814sac。将该质粒导入野生型菌株8004, 获得了报告菌株8004/pL3814sac。利用转座子EZ::Tn5对报告菌株的基因组进行随机诱变, 分离到3株耐蔗糖的突变体。分析发现其中的1株突变体是由EZ::Tn5插入到编号为XC3882的未知功能的基因所产生的。将由XC3814启动子与报告基因gusA融合得到的报告质粒pGUS3814分别导入8004菌株和XC3882的转座子Tn5gusA5插入突变体, 测定比较pGUS3814的GUS表达水平, 结果显示在XC3882突变体背景下GUS的表达水平比在野生型背景下降低81.3%, 表明XC3814基因的表达水平受XC3882基因的影响。     

水稻黄单胞菌黄色素合成相关基因的克隆与鉴定

用硫酸二乙酯(DES)诱变水稻白叶枯病菌(Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae,简称Xoo)和条斑病细菌(Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola, 简称Xooc),分别得到5株和13株黄色素缺失突变体,其中来自Xooc的M6和M12 还丧失了对水稻的致病性和在烟草上激发过敏反应的能力。以Xooc黄色素缺失突变体M51为受体菌交叉互补从Xoo JXOIII基因文库中筛选出一个黄色素合成相关的基因克隆pA341,以Xoo黄色素缺失突变体M1071为受体菌,从Xooc RS105基因文库中获得了一个黄色素合成相关的基因克隆pA270。功能互补显示,18株黄色素缺失突变体中的10株能分别被pA341和 pA270互补后正常产生黄色素,但这两个克隆不能同时互补同一株黄色素缺失突变体。能被pA341互补的黄色素缺失突变体M6没有恢复对水稻的致病性和在烟草上激发过敏反应,表明黄色素合成相关基因与hrp基因间不存在相关性。斑点杂交结果表明,pA270与pA341之间没有同源性。pA270亚克隆结果显示,与黄色素合成相关的基因约11.6kb大小,以基因簇的形式存在,不仅决定了黄色素的产生,还影响黄色素合成的数量和质量（吸收峰）。在紫外光条件下,黄色素能够提高菌体的存活率,提示黄色素对病原细菌有保护作用。     

Characterization of the hrpF pathogenicity peninsula of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

The hrp gene cluster of Xanthomonas spp. contains genes for the assembly and function of a type III secretion system (TTSS). The hrpF genes reside in a region between hpaB and the right end of the hrp cluster. The region of the hrpF gene of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae is bounded by two IS elements and also contains a homolog of hpaF of X. campestris pv. vesicatoria and two newly identified genes, hpa3 and hpa4. A comparison of the hrp gene clusters of different species of Xanthomonas revealed that the hrpF region is a constant yet more variable peninsula of the hrp pathogenicity island. Mutations in hpaF, hpa3, and hpa4 had no effect on virulence, whereas hrpF mutants were severely reduced in virulence on susceptible rice cultivars. The hrpF genes from X. campestris pv. vesicatoria, X. campestris pv. campestris, and X. axonopodis pv. citri each were capable of restoring virulence to the hrpF mutant of X. oryzae pv. oryzae. Correspondingly, none of the Xanthomonas pathovars with hrpF from X. oryzae pv. oryzae elicited a hypersensitive reaction in their respective hosts. Therefore, no evidence was found for hrpF as a host-specialization factor. In contrast to the loss of Bs3-dependent reactions by hrpF mutants of X. campestris pv. vesicatoria, hrpF mutants of X. oryzae pv. oryzae with either avrXa10 or avrXa7 elicited hypersensitive reactions in rice cultivars with the corresponding R genes. A double hrpFxoo-hpa1 mutant also elicited an Xa10-dependent resistance reaction. Thus, loss of hrpF, hpal, or both may reduce delivery or effectiveness of type III effectors. However, the mutations did not completely prevent the delivery of effectors from X. oryzae pv. oryzae into the host cells.     

Genetic organization of the lexA,recA and recX genes in Xanthomonas campestris

A gene cluster containing lexA, recA and recX genes was previously identified and characterized in Xanthomonas campestris pathovar citri (X. c. pv. citri). We have now cloned and sequenced the corresponding regions in the Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (X. c. pv. campestris) and Xanthomonas oryzae pathovar oryzae (X. o. pv. oryzae) chromosome. Sequence analysis of these gene clusters showed significant homology to the previously reported lexA, recA and recX genes. The genetic linkage and the deduced amino acid sequences of these genes displayed very high identity in different pathovars of X. campestris as well as in X. oryzae. Immunoblot analysis revealed that the over-expressed LexA protein of X. c. pv. citri functioned as a repressor of recA expression in X. c. pv. campestris, indicating that the recombinant X. c. pv. citri LexA protein was functional in a different X. campestris pathovar. The abundance of RecA protein was markedly increased upon exposure of X. c. pv. campestris to mitomycin C, and an upstream region of this gene was shown to confer sensitivity to positive regulation by mitomycin C on a luciferase reporter gene construct. A symmetrical sequence of TTAGTAGTAATACTACTAA present within all three Xanthomonas lexA promoters and a highly conserved sequence of TTAGCCCCATACCGAA present in the three regulatory regions of recA indicate that the SOS box of Xanthomonas strains might differ from that of Escherichia coli.     

Novel genomic locus with atypical G+C content that is required for extracellular polysaccharide production and virulence in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae.

Three exopolysaccharide (EPS)- and virulence-deficient mutants of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, the causal agent of bacterial leaf blight of rice, were isolated by Tn5 mutagenesis. These insertions are not located within the gum gene cluster. A 40-kb cosmid clone that restored EPS production and virulence to all three mutants was isolated, and the three transposon insertions were localized to contiguous 4.3- and 3.5-kb EcoRI fragments that are included in this clone. Sequence data indicate that two of the transposon insertions are in genes that encode a putative sugar nucleotide epimerase and a putative glycosyl transferase, respectively; the third insertion is located between the glycosyl transferase gene and a novel open reading frame (ORF). A 5.5-kb genomic region in which these three ORFs are located has a G+C content of 5-1.7%, quite different from the G+C content of approximately 65.0% that is typical of X. oryzae pv. oryzae. Homologues of this locus have not yet been reported in any other xanthomonad.     

水稻白叶枯病抗性基因Xa23鉴别菌株突变体库的构建及无毒基因突变体的筛选

利用in vivo转座技术构建了白叶枯病抗性基因Xa23鉴别菌株的突变体库,特异性引物PCR扩增和转座子插入位点旁侧序列分析结果表明转座子插入到白叶枯病菌的基因组中。经人工接种鉴定,筛选到4个毒力发生变化的突变体。为进一步克隆Xa23无毒基因提供了条件。     

rpfF mutants of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae are deficient for virulence and growth under low iron conditions

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae causes bacterial leaf blight, a serious disease of rice. In the related bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris, the rpfF gene is involved in production of a diffusible extracellular factor (DSF) that positively regulates synthesis of virulence-associated functions like extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) and extracellular enzymes. Transposon insertions in the rpfF homolog of X. oryzae pv. oryzae are deficient for virulence and production of a DSF but are proficient for EPS and extracellular enzyme production. The rpfF X. oryzae pv. oryzae mutants exhibit an unusual tetracycline susceptibility phenotype in which exogenous iron supplementation is required for phenotypic expression of a tetracycline resistance determinant that is encoded on an introduced plasmid. The rpfF X. oryzae pv. oryzae mutants also overproduce one or more siderophores and exhibit a growth deficiency under low iron conditions as well as in the presence of reducing agents that are expected to promote the conversion of Fe+3 to Fe+2. Exogenous iron supplementation promotes migration of rpfF X. oryzae pv. oryzae mutants in rice leaves. The results suggest that rpfF may be involved in controlling an iron-uptake system of X. oryzae pv. oryzae and that an inability to cope with the conditions of low iron availability in the host may be the reason for the virulence deficiency of the rpfF X. oryzae pv. oryzae mutants.     

Functional analysis of the aroC gene encoding chorismate synthase from Xanthomonas oryzae pathovar oryzae

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae causes bacterial blight in rice, and this bacterial blight has been widely found in the major rice-growing areas. We constructed a transposon mutagenesis library of X. oryzae pv. oryzae and identified a mutant strain (KXOM9) that is deficient for pigment production and virulence. Furthermore, the KXOM9 mutant was unable to grow in minimal medium lacking aromatic amino acids. Thermal asymmetric interlaced-PCR and sequence analysis of KXOM9 revealed that the transposon was inserted into the aroC gene, which encodes a chorismate synthase in various bacterial pathogens. In planta growth assays revealed that bacterial growth of the KXOM9 mutant in rice leaves was severely reduced. Genetic complementation of this mutant with a 7.9-kb fragment containing aroC restored virulence, pigmentation, and prototrophy. These results suggest that the aroC gene plays a crucial role in the growth, attenuation of virulence, and pigment production of X. oryzae pv. oryzae.     

Involvement of Gluconeogenic Pathway in Virulence of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae causes bacterial leaf blight, one of the most widespread and destructive bacterial diseases of rice. A phosphoenolpyruvate synthase (ppsA)‐disrupted mutant OSPAM was generated by homologous suicide plasmid integration. The mutant was unable to grow in medium with pyruvate or C₄‐dicarboxylates as the sole carbon source, compared with the wild‐type, indicating a disruption in ppsA function. The mutant showed a reduction in virulence on rice but still induced a hypersensitive response in tobacco. When the mutant was complemented, the response was recovered to wild‐type. These results suggested that X. oryzae pv. oryzae possesses only PPSA route in gluconeogenesis, which is necessary for virulence.     

PhyA, a secreted protein of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, is required for optimum virulence and growth on phytic acid as a sole phosphate source

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae causes bacterial leaf blight, a serious disease of rice. We have identified a novel virulence deficient mutant (BXO1691) of X. oryzae pv. oryzae that has a Tn5 insertion in an open reading frame (phyA; putative phytase A) encoding a 373-amino acid (aa) protein containing a 28-aa predicted signal peptide. Extracellular protein profiles revealed that a 38-kDa band is absent in phyA mutants as compared with phyA+ strains. A BLAST search with phyA and its deduced polypeptide sequence indicated significant similarity with conserved hypothetical proteins in Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri and Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris and limited homology to secreted phytases of Bacillus species. Homology modeling with a Bacillus phytase as the template suggests that the PhyA protein has a similar six-bladed beta-propeller architecture and exhibits conservation of certain critical active site residues. Phytases are enzymes that are involved in degradation of phytic acid (inositol hexaphosphate), a stored form of phosphate in plants. The phyA mutants exhibit a growth deficiency in media containing phytic acid as a sole phosphate source. Exogenous phosphate supplementation promotes migration of phyA X. oryzae pv. oryzae mutants in rice leaves. These results suggest that the virulence deficiency of phyA mutants is, at least in part, due to inability to use host phytic acid as a source of phosphate. phyA-like genes have not been previously reported to be involved in the virulence of any plant pathogenic bacterium.     

水稻条斑病菌gacA基因的克隆及功能初析

根据黄单胞菌gacA基因的同源性设计简并引物,采用PCR方法从水稻条斑病菌(Xanthomonas oryzae pv.oryzicola,Xooc)中克隆了gacA同源基因,命名为gacAXooc。序列比较显示,该基因在黄单胞菌中是相对保守的。通过同源重组的方法,构建了gacAXooc的插入突变株。对0.1% Tryptone的趋化应答能力检测发现,gacA突变株的趋化能力明显降低,证明gacA与Xooc的趋化性相关。     

Rapid inhibition of protein histidine phosphorylation by UV-irradiation in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

Abstract Exposure of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae cells to 254 nm UV radiation resulted in an alteration of protein phosphorylation. Labelling of the phosphohistidine-containing proteins with molecular masses of 81 and 32 kDa, named p81 and p32, was rapidly reduced following UV irradiation in the early exponential cells, but the decrease was not detected in mid-exponential cells. Mitomycin C, a DNA replication inhibitor, and rifampicin, a drug generally used to inhibit RNA synthesis and DNA replication, were also found to reduce the histidyl phosphorylation. However, this alteration of protein phosphorylation was not hindered by chloramphenicol treatment. A possible role for these histidyl phosphopfoteins in sensing UV light is proposed.