Genetic analysis of the antifungal activity of a soilborne Pseudomonas aureofaciens strain.

Pseudomonas aureofaciens Q2-87 produces the antibiotic 2,4-diacetophloroglucinol (Phl), which inhibits Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici and other fungi in vitro. Strain Q2-87 also provides biological control of take-all, a root disease of wheat caused by this fungus. To assess the role of Phl in the antifungal activity of strain Q2-87, a genetic analysis of antibiotic production was conducted. Two mutants of Q2-87 with altered antifungal activity were isolated by site-directed mutagenesis with Tn5. One mutant, Q2-87::Tn5-1, did not inhibit G. graminis var. tritici in vitro and did not produce Phl. Two cosmids were isolated from a genomic library of the wild-type strain by probing with the mutant genomic fragment. Antifungal activity and Phl production were coordinately restored in Q2-87::Tn5-1 by complementation with either cosmid. Mobilization of one of these cosmids into two heterologous Pseudomonas strains conferred the ability to synthesize Phl and increased their activity against G. graminis var. tritici, Pythium ultimum, and Rhizoctonia solani in vitro. Subcloning and deletion analysis of these cosmids identified a 4.8-kb region which was necessary for Phl synthesis and antifungal activity.     

Genetic analysis of the antifungal activity of a soilborne Pseudomonas aureofaciens strain.

Pseudomonas aureofaciens Q2-87 produces the antibiotic 2,4-diacetophloroglucinol (Phl), which inhibits Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici and other fungi in vitro. Strain Q2-87 also provides biological control of take-all, a root disease of wheat caused by this fungus. To assess the role of Phl in the antifungal activity of strain Q2-87, a genetic analysis of antibiotic production was conducted. Two mutants of Q2-87 with altered antifungal activity were isolated by site-directed mutagenesis with Tn5. One mutant, Q2-87::Tn5-1, did not inhibit G. graminis var. tritici in vitro and did not produce Phl. Two cosmids were isolated from a genomic library of the wild-type strain by probing with the mutant genomic fragment. Antifungal activity and Phl production were coordinately restored in Q2-87::Tn5-1 by complementation with either cosmid. Mobilization of one of these cosmids into two heterologous Pseudomonas strains conferred the ability to synthesize Phl and increased their activity against G. graminis var. tritici, Pythium ultimum, and Rhizoctonia solani in vitro. Subcloning and deletion analysis of these cosmids identified a 4.8-kb region which was necessary for Phl synthesis and antifungal activity.     

A New Genetic Locus in Sinorhizobium meliloti Is Involved in Stachydrine Utilization

Stachydrine, a betaine released by germinating alfalfa seeds, functions as an inducer of nodulation genes, a catabolite, and an osmoprotectant in Sinorhizobium meliloti. Two stachydrine-inducible genes were found in S. meliloti 1021 by mutation with a Tn5-luxAB promoter probe. Both mutant strains (S10 and S11) formed effective alfalfa root nodules, but neither grew on stachydrine as the sole carbon and nitrogen source. When grown in the absence or presence of salt stress, S10 and S11 took up [¹⁴C]stachydrine as well as wild-type cells did, but neither used stachydrine effectively as an osmoprotectant. In the absence of salt stress, both S10 and S11 took up less [¹⁴C]proline than wild-type cells did. S10 and S11 appeared to colonize alfalfa roots normally in single-strain tests, but when mixed with the wild-type strain, their rhizosphere counts were reduced more than 50% (P ≤ 0.01) relative to the wild type. These results suggest that stachydrine catabolism contributes to root colonization. DNA sequence analysis identified the mutated locus in S11 as putA, and the luxAB fusion in that gene was induced by proline as well as stachydrine. DNA that restored the capacity of mutant S10 to catabolize stachydrine contained a new open reading frame, stcD. All data are consistent with the concept that stcD codes for an enzyme that produces proline by demethylation of N-methylproline, a degradation product of stachydrine.     

Identification and Disruption of lisRK, a Genetic Locus Encoding a Two-Component Signal Transduction System Involved in Stress Tolerance and Virulence in Listeria monocytogenes

lisRK encodes a two-component regulatory system in the food pathogen Listeria monocytogenes LO28. Following identification of the operon in an acid-tolerant Tn917 mutant, a deletion in the histidine kinase component was shown to result in a growth phase variation in acid tolerance, an ability to grow in high ethanol concentrations, and a significant reduction in virulence.     

A Genetic and Mosaic Analysis of a Locus Involved in the Anesthesia Response of Drosophila Melanogaster

We describe a genetic and behavioral analysis of several alleles of har38, a mutant with altered sensitivity to the general anesthetic halothane. We obtained a P-element-induced allele of har38 and generated several excision alleles by remobilizing the P element. The mutants narrow abdomen (na) and har85 are confirmed to be allelic to har38. Besides a decreased sensitivity to halothane, all mutant alleles of this locus cause a characteristic walking behavior in the absence of anesthetics. We have quantified this behavior using a geotaxis apparatus. Responses of the mutant alleles to different inhalational anesthetics were tested. The results strongly favor a multipathway model for the onset of anesthesia. Mosaic flies were tested for their response to halothane and checked for their abnormal walking behavior. The analysis suggests that both the behaviors are exhibited only by such mosaics as have the entire head of mutant origin. It is likely that this focus represents an element of a common pathway in the anesthetic response to several inhalational anesthetics but not all. This result is the first demonstration of regional specificity in the CNS of any animal for general anesthetic action.     

Genetic Evidence That the Sans Fille Locus Is Involved in Drosophila Sex Determination

Females homozygous for sans fille1621 (= fs(1)1621) have an abnormal germ line. Instead of producing eggs, the germ-line cells proliferate forming ovarian tumors or excessive numbers of nurse cells. The Sex-lethal gene product(s) regulate the branch point of the dosage compensation and sex determination pathways in the soma. The role of Sex-lethal in the germ line is not clear but the germ line of females homozygous for female sterile Sex-lethal alleles or germ-line clones of loss-of-function alleles are characterized by ovarian tumors. Females heterozygous for sans fille1621 or Sex-lethal are phenotypically wild type with respect to viability and fertility but females trans-heterozygous for sans fille1621 and Sex-lethal show ovarian tumors, somatic sexual transformations, and greatly reduced viability.     

Identification of Genes Involved in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm-Specific Resistance to Antibiotics

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a key opportunistic pathogen characterized by its biofilm formation ability and high-level multiple antibiotic resistance. By screening a library of random transposon insertion mutants with an increased biofilm-specifc antibiotic susceptibility, we previously identified 3 genes or operons of P. aeruginosa UCBPP-PA14 (ndvB, PA1875–1877 and tssC1) that do not affect biofilm formation but are involved in biofilm-specific antibiotic resistance. In this study, we demonstrate that PA0756–0757 (encoding a putative two-component regulatory system), PA2070 and PA5033 (encoding hypothetical proteins of unknown function) display increased expression in biofilm cells and also have a role in biofilm-specific antibiotic resistance. Furthermore, deletion of each of PA0756, PA2070 and PA5033 resulted in a significant reduction of lethality in Caenorhabditis elegans, indicating a role for these genes in both biofilm-specific antibiotic resistance and persistence in vivo. Together, these data suggest that these genes are potential targets for antimicrobial agents.     

Genetic Evidence That the Ovo Locus Is Involved in Drosophila Germ Line Sex Determination

Zygotically contributed ovo gene product is required for the survival of female germ cells in Drosophila melanogaster. Trans-allelic combinations of weak and dominant ovo mutations (ovoD) result in viable germ cells that appear to be partially transformed from female to male sexual identity. The ovoD2 mutation is partially suppressed by many Sex-lethal alleles that affect the soma, while those that affect only the germ line fail to interact with ovoD2. One of two loss-of-function ovo alleles is suppressed by a loss-of-function Sex-lethal allele. Because ovo mutations are germ line dependent, it is likely that ovo is suppressed by way of communication between the somatic and germ lines. A loss-of-function allele of ovo is epistatic to germ line dependent mutations in Sex-lethal. The germ line dependent sex determination mutation, sans fille, and ovoD mutations show a dominant synergistic interaction resulting in partial transformation of germ line sexual identity. The ovo locus appears to be involved in germ line sex determination and is linked in some manner to sex determination in the soma.     

Purification of bromoperoxidase from Pseudomonas aureofaciens.

A Bromoperoxidase has been isolated and purified from Pseudomonas aureofaciens ATCC 15926 mutant strain ACN. The purified enzyme was homogeneous as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and ultracentrifugation. This bromoperoxidase can utilize bromide ions in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and a halogen acceptor for the catalytic formation of carbon-halogen bonds. The homogeneous enzyme also has peroxidase and catalase activity. Based on the results from gel filtration and ultracentrifugation, the molecular weight of this procaryotic bromoperoxidase is 155,000 to 158,000. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis shows a single band having the mobility of a 77,000-molecular-weight species. We thus conclude that this bromoperoxidase exists in solution as a dimeric species. The heme prosthetic group of bromoperoxidase is ferriprotoporphyrin IX. The spectral properties of the native and reduced enzyme are reported. This bromoperoxidase is the first halogenating enzyme purified from procaryotic sources.     

Purification of Cytosine Deaminase from Pseudomonas aureofaciens

Cytosine deaminase from Pseudomonas aureofaciens was purified about 480-fold by means of ammonium sulfate fractionation, ethyl alcohol fractionation, chromatography on columns of DEAE-Sephadex A–50 and hydroxylapatite and by gel filtration on a Sephadex G–200 column. The enzyme was homogeneous by the criteria of sedimentation and electrophoretic analysis. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 630,000 by gel filtration and consisted of twelve to sixteen identical subunits having a molecular weight of about 45,000. The enzyme catalyzed the deamination of cytosine and 5-methylcytosine.     

Analysis of Expression of a Phenazine Biosynthesis Locus of Pseudomonas aureofaciens PGS12 on Seeds with a Mutant Carrying a Phenazine Biosynthesis Locus-Ice Nucleation Reporter Gene Fusion

A derivative of Pseudomonas aureofaciens PGS12 expressing a promoterless ice nucleation gene under the control of a phenazine biosynthesis locus was used to study the expression of a phenazine antibiotic locus (Phz) during bacterial seed colonization. Seeds of various plants were inoculated with wild-type PGS12 and a PGS12 ice nucleation-active phz:inaZ marker exchange derivative and planted in soil, and the expression of the reporter gene was monitored at different intervals for 48 h during seed germination. phz gene expression was first detected 12 h after planting, and the expression increased during the next 36-h period. Significant differences in expression of bacterial populations on different seeds were measured at 48 h. The highest expression level was recorded for wheat seeds (one ice nucleus per 4,000 cells), and the lowest expression level was recorded for cotton seeds (one ice nucleus per 12,000,000 cells). These values indicate that a small proportion of bacteria in a seed population expressed phenazine biosynthesis. Reporter gene expression levels and populations on individual seeds in a sample were lognormally distributed. There was greater variability in reporter gene expression than in population size among individual seeds in a sample. Expression on sugar beet and radish seeds was not affected by different inoculum levels or soil matric potentials of -10 and -40 J/kg; only small differences in expression on wheat and sugar beet seeds were detected when the seeds were planted in various soils. It is suggested that the nutrient level in seed exudates is the primary reason for the differences observed among seeds. The lognormal distribution of phenazine expression on seeds and the timing and difference in expression of phenazine biosynthesis on seeds have implications for the potential efficacy of biocontrol microorganisms against plant pathogens.     

Rhizosphere bacteria Pseudomonas aureofaciens and Pseudomonas chlororaphis oxidizing naphthalene in the presence of arsenic

Rhizosphere strains of P. aureofaciens BS1393(pBS216, pKS1) and P. chlororaphis PCL1391(pBS216, pKS1), exhibiting the ability to stimulate the growth of plants and protect them from phytopathogens, have been obtained. In these strains, plasmid pBS216 ensures naphthalene degradation and plasmid pKS1 confers resistance to arsenic. In the presence of arsenic and naphthalene, the number of living cells and the growth rate of the arsenic-resistant strains were higher than those of the arsenic-sensitive strains BS1393(pBS216) and PCL1391(pBS216). During the cultivation of the resistant strains, arsenic had no inhibitory effect on the activity of the key enzymes of naphthalene biodegradation, except for catechol-2,3-dioxygenase. In a model system containing plant-microbial associations, strains BS1393(pBS216, pKS1) and PCL1391(pBS216, pKS1) degraded as much as 97% of added naphthalene in the presence of arsenic.     

Effect of a genetically modified Pseudomonas aureofaciens on indigenous microbial populations of wheat

Abstract An isolate of Pseudomonas aureofaciens from the phylloplane of sugar beet which was chromosomally modified for monitors purposes by the insertion of two gene cassettes (km^r- xyl E and lac ZY) was introduced to the phytosphere of spring wheat in a number of experiments and the resulting microbial perturbations quantified. Such studies involving innocuous bacterial isolates can serve as a guide in the assessment of risk associated with the release of functionally modified microorganisms. Introductions of P. aureofaciens on seeds caused large microbial perturbations (up to 2 log units) at the seedling stage on seeds and roots. As the inoculated plants matured (tillering, flowering and ripening), perturbations of total microbial populations were found to be non-significant. Microbial perturbation on maturing wheat roots as a result of seed inoculations with P. aureofaciens could only be detected using more sensitive monitoring procedures describing the Pseudomonas community in terms of colony appearance rate on a selective Pseudomonas medium. Spray applications of the marked P. aureofaciens isolate onto the leaf surface of wheat caused no significant perturbations of the indigenous microbial present on the phylloplane.