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Identification of potential virulence genes in Erwinia chrysanthemi 3937: transposon insertion into plant-upregulated genes

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Abstract

Erwinia chrysanthemi 3937 is a soft-rotting plant pathogen in Enterobacteriaceae. It attacks a wide range of plant host species. Previously, we identified dozens of E. chrysanthemi 3937 genes induced during plant infection by microarray differential display. Here, we have mutated plant-upregulated and putatively plant-upregulated genes in E. chrysanthemi 3937 using a transposon insertion method. Of 57 mutants produced, 8 were significantly reduced in maceration in African violet leaves. These 8 E. chrysanthemi genes are similar to Escherichia coli purU (formyltetrahydrofolate deformylase; ASAP20623) and wcaJ (undecaprenylphosphate glucosephosphotransferase; ASAP18556), Bacillus subtilis dltA (d-alanine-d-alanyl carrier protein ligase; ASAP19406), Pseudomonas syringae PSPTO2912 (ABC transporter, periplasmic glutamine-binding protein; ASAP15639), Pseudomonas aeruginosa pheC (cyclohexadienyl dehydratase; ASAP19773), P. syringae syrE (peptide synthase; ASAP19989), Vibrio vulnificus VV12303 (unknown protein; ASAP18555), and Yersinia pestis speD (S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase; ASAP20536). In some of the genes, possible roles in virulence could be postulated based on the functions of their homologues. This work demonstrated that a low proportion of pathogenicity-related genes were among the plant-upregulated genes of E. chrysanthemi 3937. This study and further dissection of these putative virulence genes should lead to new insights into infection mechanisms in pathogens.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan

    Yasushi Okinaka

  2. Department of Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Nicole T. Perna

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, 53201, USA

    Shihui Yang & Ching-Hong Yang

  4. Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA

    Noel T. Keen

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  1. Yasushi Okinaka
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  2. Nicole T. Perna
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  3. Shihui Yang
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  5. Ching-Hong Yang
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Correspondence to Ching-Hong Yang.

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Okinaka, Y., Perna, N., Yang, S. et al. Identification of potential virulence genes in Erwinia chrysanthemi 3937: transposon insertion into plant-upregulated genes. J Gen Plant Pathol 72, 360–368 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10327-006-0310-z

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