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Toxicity of Syringomycins and Its Pathological Significance

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Advances in Microbial Toxin Research and Its Biotechnological Exploitation

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Abstract

A phytopathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae is one ofthe most ubiquitously existing bacteria, and causes necrosis on numerous host plants including monocots and dicots (Bradbury, 1986). Because of its broad host range, the bacterium has been extensively studied over many years. Most of virulent strains of this bacterium are known to produce lipodepsinonapeptide phytotoxins called syringomycins that exhibit antibiotic activities against filamentous fungi and yeast. These toxic metabolites are composed of a polar head and hydrophobic 3-hydroxy fatty acid tail of 10, 12, or 14 carbon units in length. Syringomycins are cytotoxic due to formation of pores in plasma membranes which become freely permeable to cations such as Ca2+ (Hutchison and Gross, 1997), and production of these toxins results in increased disease severity (Quigley et al., 1993). Consequently, syringomycins are considered to be important virulence determinants of P. syringae pv. syringae (reviewed in Bender et al., 1999). Besides, strains of this bacterium isolated from citrus and lilac hosts produce related lipodepsinonapeptides, syringotoxin and syringostatin, respectively. In addition, some pathovars of P. syringae other than pv. syringae were found to produce syringomycin-like toxins. The interesting chemical structures and the vast array of biological activities of syringomycins and related toxins produced by P. syringae pv. syringae,as well as significant agricultural damages caused by this bacterium, attract our attention to this group of phytotoxins.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-0032, Japan

    Katsunori Tamura

  2. Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo, 183-8538, Japan

    Tohru Teraoka

  3. Plant Science Center, RIKEN (The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research), Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan

    Isamu Yamaguchi

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  1. Katsunori Tamura
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  1. Faridabad, India

    Rajeev K. Upadhyay (Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage) (Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage)

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Tamura, K., Teraoka, T., Yamaguchi, I. (2002). Toxicity of Syringomycins and Its Pathological Significance. In: Upadhyay, R.K. (eds) Advances in Microbial Toxin Research and Its Biotechnological Exploitation. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4439-2_10

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