Occurrence of Ralstonia solanacearum Race 2 Biovar 1 Associated with Moko Disease of Banana (Musa paradisiaca cv. Nipah) in Malaysia

During June 2011 to March 2012, Moko disease symptoms were observed in banana cv. Nipah in two Malaysian states. The primer pairs ISRso19F/ISRso19R were used for defined identification of Ralstonia solanacearum race 2 strain. PCR amplification of all isolates produced a 1900 amplicon and exhibited 93% phylogenetic similarity with reference strain (AF450275). Based on symptoms, biochemical tests, pathogenicity assay, molecular and phylogenetic studies, we concluded that the isolated bacterium was R. solanacearum race 2 biovar 1.     

Relationship Between Ralstonia solanacearum Diversity and Severity of Bacterial Wilt Disease in Tomato Fields in China

A field survey was conducted to determine the relationship between Ralstonia solanacearum diversity and severity of bacterial wilt disease in tomato plants grown in plastic greenhouses. Both vegetative and reproductive stages of the plants were surveyed, and the symptoms were empirically categorized into five scales: 0 (asymptomatic): 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. The bacterial wilt pathogen was isolated from infected plants at each disease scale; pathogenic characteristics and population densities of the bacterial strains were assessed. Two hundred and eighty‐two isolates were identified as R. solanacearum, which were divided into three pathogenic types, virulent, avirulent and interim, using the attenuation index (AI) method and a plant inoculation bioassay. Ralstonia solanacearum was detected in all asymptomatic and symptomatic tomato plants, with population numbers, ranging from 10.5 to 86.7 × 105 cfu/g. However, asymptomatic plants harboured only avirulent or interim R. solanacearum, whereas tomato plants displaying 1st or 2nd disease degree contained interim and virulent strains. Additionally, 3rd and 4th degree plants harboured only virulent strains. The disease was more severe in vegetative‐stage plants (disease severity index (DSI) 0.20) with higher total numbers of interim and virulent R. solanacearum strains than those in reproductive‐stage plants (DSI 0.12). Three pathotypes of R. solanacearum coexisted in a competitive growth system in the tomato field, and their distribution closely correlated with the severity of tomato bacterial wilt.     

茄科雷尔氏菌的蛋白分泌系统及其特征

茄科雷尔氏菌利用自身的分泌系统能向胞外分泌上百种蛋白, 其中Ⅱ型和Ⅲ型分泌系统通过不同机制将分泌蛋白靶定到胞外或宿主细胞, 是决定茄科雷尔氏菌对宿主产生致病性的主要因素。其中Ⅲ型分泌系统不依赖Sec信号转导系统但必须依赖于宿主细胞的识别激活, 并在病原菌对宿主细胞的特异性识别和细菌在宿主细胞的生长增殖中发挥功能。到目前为止, 已经从茄科雷尔氏菌的GMI1000株系中鉴定出两类在宿主细胞中存在靶标, 并由Ⅲ型分泌系统分泌的效应蛋白Pop2和Gala蛋白家族。主要就茄科雷尔氏菌Ⅲ型分泌系统的基本特征以及效应蛋白及其宿主靶标的相互作用进行综述。     

Optimization of cyanophycin production in recombinant strains of Pseudomonas putida and Ralstonia eutropha employing elementary mode analysis and statistical experimental design

Elementary mode analysis was applied to simulate conditions for cyanophycin (CGP) biosynthesis and to optimize its production in bacteria. The conclusions from these simulations were confirmed by experiments with recombinant strains of the wild types and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)-negative mutants of Ralstonia eutropha and Pseudomonas putida expressing CGP synthetase genes (cphA) of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6308 or Anabaena sp. strain PCC7120. In particular, the effects of suitable precursor substrates and of oxygen supply as well as of the capability to accumulate PHA in addition to CGP biosynthesis were investigated. Since CGP consists of the amino acids aspartate and arginine, the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCC), which provides intermediates for biosynthesis of these amino acids, seems to be important. Excretion of intermediates of the TCC upon cultivation at restricted oxygen supply and conversion of fumarate mainly to malate and to only little succinate in the absence of oxygen indicated that TCC intermediates for arginine and aspartate biosynthesis were provided by the oxidative or reductive parts of the TCC, respectively. The following important conclusions were made from the experiments and the simulations: (i) external arginine additionally supplied to the medium, (ii) oxygen limitation, and (iii) absence of PHA accumulation exerted positive effects on CGP accumulation. These conclusions were utilized to obtain CGP contents in the cells of as high as 17.9% (w x w(-1)) during cultivation of the investigated bacteria at the 30-L scale using mineral salts medium. Such high CGP contents were previously not obtained with these bacteria at a 30-L scale, even if complex media were used.     

Proteomic examination of Ralstonia eutropha in cellular responses to formic acid

In this study, Ralstonia eutropha was used to elucidate protein changes in response to formic acid. Sixty-three differentially expressed proteins in relation to formic acid in R. eutropha were found with 1-D PAGE and nano-LC-MS/MS. Among the proteins with decreased expression, four were involved in the shikimate pathway and three proteins in the pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway. With the increased expression of proteins, a dramatic change occurred in the induction of ion transporters in relation to maintenance of the acid-base balance. A detoxification process of formic acid in the bacteria might be related to a membrane enzyme, formate hydrogenylase. Three proteins in polyhydroxyalkanoate synthesis were enhanced and five proteins in glutathione biosynthesis increased in response to formic acid. Three enzymes in mevalonate biosynthesis and heat shock proteins were also elevated in the cells. Therefore, formic acid might have an inhibitory effect on aromatic amino acid production and pyrimidine biosynthesis in R. eutropha. R. eutropha cells seemed to attempt to overcome the effects of formic acid by increasing ion transporters and proteins that metabolized formic acid.     

An improved purification procedure for the soluble [NiFe]-hydrogenase of Ralstonia eutropha: new insights into its (in)stability and spectroscopic properties

Infrared (IR) spectra in combination with chemical analyses have recently shown that the active Ni–Fe site of the soluble NAD⁺-reducing [NiFe]-hydrogenase from Ralstonia eutropha contains four cyanide groups and one carbon monoxide as ligands. Experiments presented here confirm this result, but show that a variable percentage of enzyme molecules loses one or two of the cyanide ligands from the active site during routine purification. For this reason the redox conditions during the purification have been optimized yielding hexameric enzyme preparations (HoxFUYHI₂) with aerobic specific H₂–NAD⁺ activities of 150–185 μmol/min/mg of protein (up to 200% of the highest activity previously reported in the literature). The preparations were highly homogeneous in terms of the active site composition and showed superior IR spectra. IR spectro-electrochemical studies were consistent with the hypothesis that only reoxidation of the reduced enzyme with dioxygen leads to the inactive state, where it is believed that a peroxide group is bound to nickel. Electron paramagnetic resonance experiments showed that the radical signal from the NADH-reduced enzyme derives from the semiquinone form of the flavin (FMN-a) in the hydrogenase module (HoxYH dimer), but not of the flavin (FMN-b) in the NADH-dehydrogenase module (HoxFU dimer). It is further demonstrated that the hexameric enzyme remains active in the presence of NADPH and air, whereas NADH and air lead to rapid destruction of enzyme activity. It is proposed that the presence of NADPH in cells keeps the enzyme in the active state.     

Production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) by Ralstonia eutropha in high cell density palm oil fermentations

Improved production costs will accelerate commercialization of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) polymer and PHA-based products. Plant oils are considered favorable feedstocks, due to their high carbon content and relatively low price compared to sugars and other refined carbon feedstocks. Different PHA production strategies were compared using a recombinant strain of Ralstonia eutropha that produces high amounts of P(HB-co-HHx) when grown on plant oils. This R. eutropha strain was grown to high cell densities using batch, extended batch, and fed batch fermentation strategies, in which PHA accumulation was triggered by nitrogen limitation. While extended batch culture produced more biomass and PHA than batch culture, fed batch cultivation was shown to produce the highest levels of biomass and PHA. The highest titer achieved was over 139 g/L cell dry weight (CDW) of biomass with 74% of CDW as PHA containing 19 mol% HHx. Our data suggest that the fermentation process is scalable with a space time yield (STY) better than 1 g PHA/L/h. The achieved biomass concentration and PHA yield are among the highest reported for the fermentation of recombinant R. eutropha strains producing P(HB-co-HHx).