冰核细菌表达冰核蛋白特性的研究

选用１００２５Ａ和ＱＦ－９５－Ｆ１９两株分离自杨树的冰核活性细菌,探讨了两株菌不同生长阶段与它们冰核活性表达的特性。实验结果显示,冰核活性细菌在ＭＰＤＡ培养液中表达冰核蛋白的特性及活性与细菌浓度、菌龄以及培养的环境条件相关,两株菌在表达冰核活性时对培养基的营养组分没有表现出特殊的要求。同时还进一步阐明了不同生长温度冰核活性细菌对冰核蛋白表达的影响。     

Bacterial ice nucleation: a factor in frost injury to plants

Heterogeneous ice nuclei are necessary, and the common epiphytic ice nucleation active (INA) bacteria Pseudomonas syringae van Hall and Erwinia herbicola (Löhnis) Dye are sufficient to incite frost injury to sensitive plants at −5°C. The ice nucleation activity of the bacteria occurs at the same temperatures at which frost injury to sensitive plants occurs in nature. Bacterial ice nucleation on leaves can be detected at about −2°C, whereas the leaves themselves, i.e. without INA bacteria, contain nuclei active only at much lower temperatures. The temperature at which injury to plants occurs is predictable on the basis of the ice nucleation activity of leaf discs, which in turn depends on the number and ice nucleation activity of their resident bacteria. Bacterial isolates which are able to incite injury to corn at −5°C are always active as ice nuclei at −5°C. INA bacteria incited frost injury to all of the species of sensitive plants tested.     

Ice nucleation temperature of individual leaves in relation to population sizes of ice nucleation active bacteria and frost injury

Ice nucleation temperatures of individual leaves were determined by a tube nucleation test. With this assay, a direct quantitative relationship was obtained between the temperatures at which ice nucleation occurred on individual oat (Avena sativa L.) leaves and the population sizes of ice nucleation active (INA) bacteria present on those leaves. In the absence of INA bacteria, nucleation of supercooled growth-chamber grown oat leaves did not occur until temperatures were below approximately −5°C. Both nucleation temperature and population size of INA bacteria were determined on the same individual, field-grown oat leaves. Leaves with higher ice nucleation temperatures harbored larger populations of INA bacteria than did leaves with lower nucleation temperatures. Log₁₀ mean populations of INA bacteria per leaf were 5.14 and 3.51 for leaves with nucleation temperatures of −2.5°C and −3.0°C, respectively. Nucleation frequencies (the ratio of ice nuclei to viable cells) of INA bacteria on leaves were lognormally distributed. Strains from two very different collections of Pseudomonas syringae and one of Erwinia herbicola were cultured on nutrient glycerol agar and tested for nucleation frequency at −5°C. Nucleation frequencies of these bacterial strains were also lognormally distributed within each of the three sets. The tube nucleation test was used to determine the frequency with which individual leaves in an oat canopy harbored large populations of INA bacteria throughout the growing season. This test also predicted relative frost hazard to tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) plants.     

The role of ice nucleation active bacteria in supercooling of citrus tissues

The frost sensitivity of Citrus sinensis in relation to the presence of biogenic ice nuclei was studied. In commercially managed citrus groves the ice nucleation active (INA) bacterium Pseudomonas syringae reached 6 × 10⁴ colony forming units (CFU) leaf⁻¹, a population sufficiently high to catalyze ice formation. However, a transient loss of bacterial nucleation activity was noticeable at subzero field temperatures, followed by resumption as temperatures rose. This loss was apparently due to a temporary transition of INA to ice nucleation inactive (INI) bacteria. Field application of Bordeaux mixture, copper hydroxide, streptomycin, and 2-hydroxypropylmethanethiolsulfonate (HPMTS), resulted in reduction of INA bacterial populations to detectability (≤ 10² CFU leaf⁻¹) limits. However, the corresponding reduction in ice nucleation events in treated samples as compared to controls at nucleation temperature ≥−3°C was not as dramatic. It ranged from approximately 7% in samples treated with the bactericide HPMTS, to 35% in samples treated with chemicals possessing combined bactericidal - fungicidal action (coppers). Since a quantitative relationship exists between ice nucleation events on individual leaves and the INA bacterial populations harbored by these leaves, these results suggest the co-existence of a bacterial and a proteinaceous, yet non-bacterial ice nucleating source in citrus, both active at ≥−3°C.     

Characteristics and Importance of Heterogeneous ice Nuclei Associated With Citrus Fruits

The freezing behaviour and relative importance of heterogeneousice nuclei in affecting supercooling of Citrus sinensis fruitswere studied. The size of an ice nucleation active (INA) Pseudomonassyringae pool inhabiting fruits was positively correlated withthe nucleation temperature (NT) of the plant tissue, with amean of 369 log colony forming units (CFU) fruit^–1 atNT–25C. The INA bacterial pool was responsible for 23%of the nucleation events occurring at this temperature, and29% were attributed to an additional nucleating source. Thelatter was sensitive to bacterial ice nucleation inhibitors,it occupied a different microniche from that of P. syringaenuclei, yet was neither a fungus nor any of the bacterial strainsever reported as active. Treatment with an ice nucleation inactivebacterium antagonistic to INA bacteria, a lentil lectin, a protease,and guanidine reduced mean nucleation temperatures (MNT) offruits to –258, –266, –421, and–452C,respectively, compared to a MNT–167C for the controls.Thus, the citrus-associated nucleator apparently contained activeproteinaceous components but was void of carbohydrate-like groupsreportedly encountered at or near the bacterial ice nucleatingsite. Despite the different origins of citrus nuclei, bacterialnucleation inhibitors reduced nucleation in the field by 50%at NT––25C, an effect probably exerted throughthe proteinaceous site possessed by both nuclei. Key words: Citrus, ice nucleation, INA bacteria, supercooling     

The occurrence of ice nucleation activity in pathogenic bacterial species

We tested the nucleation activity (INA) of 122 strains of plant pathogenic bacteria (12 varieties and 15 subspecies) stored in collection of the University of Göttingen (GSPB). The strains are isolates from diverse host plants and different geographic regions. One-hundred and seven isolates belong to the Pseudomonads, nine to the genus Erwinia and six to the Xanthomonas. The INA was analysed by ?3°, ?5°, ?7° and ?9°C. The observed value of INA cells ranged from non-detectable to a maximum concentration of ice nuclei in a range from ?7.85 at ?5°C to ?2.63 at ?3°C in 1.82 × 10³ cfu to 3.3 × 10³ cfu per ml. The data indicated that 71 (58.2%) of the 122 strains had INA cells, and 51 (41.8%) were inactive. The highest amount of strains with INA cells we found in Pseudomonads (69). In comparison only one strain was active at Erwinia and at Xanthomonas, 46 strains were isolated from the genus Phaseolus vulgaris and 6 from the genus Beta vulgaris. The other isolates with ice active cells belonged to the 13 other plant species. The 51 inactive pathovars were isolated from 21 different culture plants. The pathogens under test were isolated in 16 different countries, mainly in Germany and USA.     

Characterization and Quantification of Intrinsic Ice Nucleators in Winter Rye (Secale cereale) Leaves

Extracellular ice formation in frost-tolerant organisms is often initiated at specific sites by ice nucleators. In this study, we examined ice nucleation activity (INA) in the frost-tolerant plant winter rye (Secale cereale). Plants were grown at 20[deg]C, at 5[deg]C with a long day, and at 5[deg]C with a short day (5[deg]C-SD). The threshold temperature for INA was -5 to -12[deg]C in winter rye leaves from all three growth treatments. Epiphytic ice nucleation-active bacteria could not account for INA observed in the leaves. Therefore, the INA must have been produced endogenously. Intrinsic rye ice nucleators were quantified and characterized using single mesophyll cell suspensions obtained by pectolytic degradation of the leaves. The most active ice nucleators in mesophyll cell suspensions exhibited a threshold ice nucleation temperature of -7[deg]C and occurred infrequently at the rate of one nucleator per 105 cells. Rye cells were treated with chemicals and enzymes to characterize the ice nucleators, which proved to be complexes of proteins, carbohydrates, and phospholipids, in which both disulfide bonds and free sulfhydryl groups were important for activity. Carbohydrates and phospholipids were important components of ice nucleators derived from 20[deg]C leaves, whereas the protein component was more important in 5[deg]C-SD leaves. This difference in composition or structure of the ice nucleators, combined with a tendency for more frequent INA, suggests that more ice nucleators are produced in 5[deg]C-SD leaves. These additional ice nucleators may be a component of the mechanism for freezing tolerance observed in winter rye.     

Ice nucleating activity of Pseudomonas syringae and Erwinia herbicola.

Chemical and biological properties of the ice nucleating sites of Pseudomonas syringae, strain C-9, and Erwinia herbicola have been characterized. The ice nucleating activity (INA) for both bacteria was unchanged in buffers ranging from pH 5.0 to 9.2, suggesting that there were no essential groups for which a change in charge in this range was critical. The INA of both bacteria was also unaffected by the addition of metal chelating compounds. Borate compounds and certain lectins markedly inhibited the INA of both types of bacterial cells. Butyl borate was not an inhibitor, but borate, phenyl borate, and m-nitrophenyl borate were, in order, increasingly potent inhibitors. These compounds have a similar order of affinity for cis hydroxyls, particularly for those found on sugars. Lentil lectin and fava bean lectin, which have binding sites for mannose or glucose, inhibited the INA of both bacteria. All other lectins examined had no effect. The inhibition of INA by these two types of reagents indicate that sugar-like groups are at or near the ice nucleating site. Sulfhydryl reagents were potent inhibitors of the INA of both bacteria. When treated with N-ethylmaleimide, p-hydroxymercuribenzoate, or iodoacetamide, the INA was irreversibly inhibited by 99%. The kinetics of inactivation with N-ethylmaleimide suggested that E. herbicola cells have at least two separate ice nucleating sites, whereas P. syringae cells have possibly four or more separate sites. The effect of infection with a virulent phage (Erh 1) on the INA of E. herbicola was examined. After multiple infection of a bacterial culture the INA was unchanged until 40 to 45 min, which was midway through the 95-min latent period. At that time, the INA activity began falling and 99% of the INA was lost by 55 min after infection, well before any cells had lysed. This decrease in INA before lysis is attributed to phage-induced changes in the cell wall.     

Distribution, Population Dynamics, and Characteristics of Ice Nucleation-Active Bacteria in Deciduous Fruit Tree Orchards

Deciduous fruit tree orchards located in the Pacific Northwest were surveyed over a 3-year period for the presence of ice nucleation-active (INA) bacteria. In the Yakima Valley, only about 30% of the fruit tree orchards contained INA bacteria (median population ca. 3 × 10² CFU/g [fresh weight]) in contrast to nearly 75% of the orchards in the Hood River Valley (median population ca. 5 × 10³ CFU/g [fresh weight]). These INA populations ranged from less than 10 to over 10⁶ CFU/g (fresh weight) of blossoms and, in Hood River Valley orchards, generally comprised over 10% of the total bacterial population. Populations of INA bacteria fluctuated during the year with highest levels developing on buds and flowers during the cool, wet spring, followed by a drop in populations during the warmer, drier, summer months and finally a gradual increase in the autumn. The INA bacteria persisted on dormant buds from which they again colonized young developing vegetative tissues. All INA bacteria were identified as Pseudomonas syringae. The frequency of ice nucleation at −5°C for these strains ranged from nearly every cell being INA to less than 1 in 10⁷ cells. The median frequency of ice nucleation at −5°C was 10⁴ cells per ice nucleus. The INA P. syringae strains from individual orchards were diverse with respect to bacteriocin typing and in ice nucleation frequency. The consistent absence of detectable INA bacteria or presence of low populations in most of the orchards surveyed during periods when critical temperatures (i.e., −2 to −5°C) were common indicated a limited role for INA bacteria in frost susceptibility of most Pacific Northwest orchards.     

The ice Nucleation Activity of Pseudomonas fluorescens Migula and its Inhibition by Various Chemicals

The ice nucleation activity (INA) of three strains of Pseudomonas fluorecens, nos 553, 554 and 606, isolated by the Institute for Pathogen Diagnostics in Ascherleben, Germany, was determined. Under equal growth conditions and at given test temperatures the ice nucleation frequency spectra of the isolates differed slightly. The fraction of cells which acted as ice nuclei increased with falling temperatures. Below ?5°C the nucleation frequency rose from 10^-8 to 10^-3. Between, 0 and ?10°C only a fraction of approximately 2 to 5 × 10^-3 cells performed ice nucleation activity. Fifteen newly synthesized chemicals showed no or only a very slight intrinsic INA at ?5°C and ?7°C. The compounds were used as antinucleators against INA-exhibiting bacteria. In INA-exhibiting suspensions of isolate 553 bacterial ice nuclei were reduced after treatment with the 15 compounds. Dependent on the compounds, a nucleation frequency of ?8.32 to ?5.10 was detected at ?5°C. At ?7°C, the frequency amounted to ?7.89 to ?5.05. As the temperature was lowered to ?10°C in bacterial suspensions which were treated with 9 (of the 15) compounds, a remainder of 1.79 to 5.91 × 10^-6 cells retained ice nucleation activity. The most pronounced inhibitory effect was noted for the compounds 1989/6255, 1989/6436 and 1990/6158. In a 10-fold dilution of isolate 553 the compound 1989/6153 inhibited ice nucleation between 0 and 10°C so strongly that it was about 100 times below the control. The ‘tube-freezing’ method showed that on excised corn leaves treated with 1989/6259 and 1990/6155, the bacterial INA decreased while the super-cooling was more pronounced. ‘Frostgard’, 1986/6205, 1986/6199 and 1989/6259 inhibited most INA-exhibiting bacteria on corn seedlings. Compared to inoculated plants, a significantly higher percentage of treated plants survived at ?2 and ?3°C.     

Sensitivity of Partially Purified Ice Nucleation Activity of Fusarium acuminatum SRSF 616

Factors that affect bacterial ice nucleation, including growth medium, growth phase, nutrient deprivation, and cold-temperature exposure, were investigated in the ice nucleation active (INA) fungus Fusarium acuminatum SRSF 616. Ice nucleation activity remained relatively constant throughout the growth cycle, and the cell-free culture supernatant consistently displayed higher ice nucleation activity than the hyphal pellet. Although nutrient starvation and low-temperature exposure enhance bacterial ice nucleation activity, reducing the concentration of C, N, or P in synthetischer nährstoffarmer broth (SNB) did not increase fungal ice nucleation activity, nor did exposure to 4°C or 15°C. From the SNB supernatant, selected INA chromatography fractions were obtained that demonstrated increased sensitivity to proteinase K and heat compared with culture supernatant. We propose that partial purification of the fungal ice nuclei resulted in removal of low-molecular-weight stabilizing factors.     

High-level expression of the ice-nucleating activity of Pseudomonas syringae in relation to its growth characteristics

Optimization of the culture medium is essential for the production of a large biomass of high ice-nucleating-active micro-organisms such as Pseudomonas syringae. Cultures in bioreactors show that optimal substrate concentrations are approximately the same for ice nucleating activity (INA) and total biomass (50–80 g/l of glucose; 28 g/l of peptone) but not for the growth rate. The INA is lowest when the growth rate is highest (50 g/l of glucose, 15 g/l of peptone). We have shown that the maximal biomass production and INA are related to the C/N ratio (optimal ratio: 10) rather than to the substrate concentration. These results also contribute to knowledge on the physiology of these bacteria and support the sequential maturation of the ice nucleating sites.     

Measurement of Ice Nucleation-Active Bacteria on Plants and in Precipitation by Quantitative PCR

Ice nucleation-active (INA) bacteria may function as high-temperature ice-nucleating particles (INP) in clouds, but their effective contribution to atmospheric processes, i.e., their potential to trigger glaciation and precipitation, remains uncertain. We know little about their abundance on natural vegetation, factors that trigger their release, or persistence of their ice nucleation activity once airborne. To facilitate these investigations, we developed two quantitative PCR (qPCR) tests of the ina gene to directly count INA bacteria in environmental samples. Each of two primer pairs amplified most alleles of the ina gene and, taken together, they should amplify all known alleles. To aid primer design, we collected many new INA isolates. Alignment of their partial ina sequences revealed new and deeply branching clades, including sequences from Pseudomonas syringae pv. atropurpurea, Ps. viridiflava, Pantoea agglomerans, Xanthomonas campestris, and possibly Ps. putida, Ps. auricularis, and Ps. poae. qPCR of leaf washings recorded ∼10⁸ ina genes g⁻¹ fresh weight of foliage on cereals and 10⁵ to 10⁷ g⁻¹ on broadleaf crops. Much lower populations were found on most naturally occurring vegetation. In fresh snow, ina genes from various INA bacteria were detected in about half the samples but at abundances that could have accounted for only a minor proportion of INP at −10°C (assuming one ina gene per INA bacterium). Despite this, an apparent biological source contributed an average of ∼85% of INP active at −10°C in snow samples. In contrast, a thunderstorm hail sample contained 0.3 INA bacteria per INP active at −10°C, suggesting a significant contribution to this sample.     

Analysis of supercooling activity of tannin-related polyphenols

Based on the discovery of novel supercooling-promoting hydrolyzable gallotannins from deep supercooling xylem parenchyma cells (XPCs) in Katsura tree (see Wang et al. (2012) [38]), supercooling capability of a wide variety of tannin-related polyphenols (TRPs) was examined in order to find more effective supercooling-promoting substances for their applications. The TRPs examined were single compounds including six kinds of hydrolyzable tannins, 11 kinds of catechin derivatives, two kinds of structural analogs of catechin and six kinds of phenolcarboxylic acid derivatives, 11 kinds of polyphenol mixtures and five kinds of crude plant tannin extracts. The effects of these TRPs on freezing were examined by droplet freezing assays using various solutions containing different kinds of identified ice nucleators such as the ice nucleation bacterium (INB) Erwinia ananas, the INB Xanthomonas campestris, silver iodide and phloroglucinol as well as a solution containing only unintentionally included unidentified airborne ice nucleators. Among the 41 kinds of TRPs examined, all of the hydrolyzable tannins, catechin derivatives, polyphenol mixtures and crude plant tannin extracts as well as a few structural analogs of catechin and phenolcarboxylic acid derivatives exhibited supercooling-promoting activity (SCA) with significant differences (p > 0.05) from at least one of the solutions containing different kinds of ice nucleators. It should be noted that there were no TRPs exhibiting ice nucleation-enhancing activity (INA) in all solutions containing identified ice nucleators, whereas there were many TRPs exhibiting INA with significant differences in solutions containing unidentified ice nucleators alone. An emulsion freezing assay confirmed that these TRPs did not essentially affect homogeneous ice nucleation temperatures. It is thought that not only SCA but also INA in the TRPs are produced by interactions with heterogeneous ice nucleators, not by direct interaction with water molecules. In the present study, several TRPs that might be useful for applications due to their high SCA in many solutions were identified.     

冰核细菌在我国北方玉米上的消长动态规律

研究证明,菠萝欧文氏菌(Erwinia ananas)为我国北方玉米上优势冰核细菌种类,占总体INA细菌95 %以上。采用定量定性和定期取样分离方法,首次研究INA细菌在玉米上的消长动态规律。结果表明:玉米不同生长发育阶段是影响INA细菌在玉米上数量分布和消长动态变化的重要因素,以抽雄至成熟期间分布INA细菌数量最多,高达10 7～10 8CFU/ g,比拔节至抽雄期高出2～3个数量级,比苗期至拔节期高出4～5个数量级;同时还指出,玉米不同播期,对INA细菌数量分布影响显著,差异很大,其中INA细菌分布数量消长变化,以正常播种(1.9×10 7CFU / g) >中期播种(7.9×10 5CFU/ g) >晚期播种(5 .0×10 4 CFU/ g) ;研究指出,处于抽雄至成熟期间的玉米上分布的INA细菌数量最多,因此期间(8月上旬至9月下旬) ,气温逐渐降低,昼夜温差大,田间结露多,加上玉米处于成熟阶段,抗INA细菌能力弱,这些因素有利于低温(5～2 0℃范围内生长)型INA细菌生长繁殖,故使INA细菌分布数量最多     

A method for estimation of population densities of ice nucleating active Pseudomonas syringae in buds and leaves of mango

Active ice nucleation strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae have been associated with a necrotic disease in mango trees growing in Málaga (southern Spain). In this paper a simple multiple-tube test is described to estimate the number of active ice nucleation bacteria associated with plant tissues and, also from suspensions of isolated bacterial strains. This method is based on the most probable number technique developed for microbiological analysis of water. The tube test presented a higher detection sensitivity of active ice nuclei than the traditional drop-freezing test, because a larger amount of plant material could be analysed routinely. Both methods demonstrated a similar accuracy. A high correlation was obtained between the tube test-estimated number of ice nuclei and populations of Ps. syringae -like organisms enumerated on King's agar B.     

Toxicity of Smoke to Epiphytic Ice Nucleation-Active Bacteria

Wheat straw smoke aerosols and liquid smoke condensates reduced significantly both the viability and the ice-nucleating activity of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae and Erwinia herbicola in vitro and on leaf surfaces in vivo. Highly significant reductions in numbers of bacterial ice nuclei on the surface of both corn and almond were observed after exposure to smoke aerosols. At −5°C, frost injury to corn seedlings colonized by ice nucleation-active bacteria was reduced after exposure to smoke aerosols. Effects on −9°C ice nuclei, although significant, were less than on ice nuclei active at −5°C. These results suggest that smoke from wildfires or smudge pots may reduce plant frost susceptibility and sources of ice nuclei important in other natural processes under some conditions.     

Gut colonization by an ice nucleation active bacterium, Erwinia (Pantoea) ananas reduces the cold hardiness of mulberry pyralid larvae.

To evaluate the suitability of using ice nucleation active (INA) bacteria for the biological control of insect pests, the supercooling point (SCP) of larvae of mulberry pyralid, Glyphodes duplicalis, and silkworm, Bombyx mori, ingesting INA strains of Erwinia (Pantoea) ananas and Pseudomonas syringae was determined. Mean SCP of the guts of silkworm larvae ingesting INA strains of E. ananas ranged from -2.5 to -2.8 degrees C, being 5 degrees C higher than that in control treatments. Similarly, mean SCP of mulberry pyralid larvae ingesting INA strain of E. ananas, which can grow well in the gut, was -4.7 degrees C at 3 days after treatment, being 6.5 degrees C higher than that in control treatments. On the other hand, mean SCP of the larvae-ingesting INA strain of P. syringae, which cannot grow in the gut, was -9.0 degrees C at 3 days after treatment, rising by only 2.5 degrees C higher than that in the control treatments. In addition, more than 80% of the larvae of mulberry pyralid ingesting the INA strain of E. ananas froze and eventually died when exposed to -6 degrees C for 18 h, while only 36% of the larvae ingesting the INA strain of P. syringae, or approximately 20% of the control larvae, froze and died. Thus, the gut colonization by INA strains of E. ananas reduced remarkably the cold hardiness of the insects. These findings suggest that INA strains of E. ananas could be effective as a potential biological control agent of insect pests.     

Phyllosphere microbiology

Aerial plant surfaces harbor large numbers of microbes, some of which are deleterious to plants whereas others are benign or beneficial. Commercial formulations of bacteria antagonistic to plant pathogenic microbes and ice nucleation active bacteria have been utilized as an environmentally safe method to manage plant disease and to prevent frost damage. Molecular genetic tools, microscopic examination and whole-cell bacterial biosensors have provided extensive information on these microbes, their complex associations and their habitat. The aerial habitat influenced by plants, termed the phyllosphere, is particularly amenable to studies of microbial ecology and the information gained should lead to more effective means of plant protection.