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The Role of Pigmentation, Ultraviolet Radiation Tolerance, and Leaf Colonization Strategies in the Epiphytic Survival of Phyllosphere Bacteria

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Abstract

Phenotypic mechanisms that enhance bacterial UVR survival typically include pigmentation and DNA repair mechanisms which provide protection from UVA and UVB wavelengths, respectively. In this study, we examined the contribution of pigmentation to field survival in Clavibacter michiganensis and evaluated differences in population dynamics and leaf colonization strategies. Two C. michiganensis pigment-deficient mutants were significantly reduced in UVA radiation survival in vitro; one of these mutants also exhibited reduced field populations on peanut when compared to the wild-type strain over the course of replicate 25-day experiments. The UVR-tolerant C. michiganensis strains G7.1 and G11.1 maintained larger epiphytic field populations on peanut compared to the UVR-sensitive C. michiganensis T5.1. Epiphytic field populations of C. michiganensis utilized the strategy of solar UVR avoidance during leaf colonization resulting in increased strain survival on leaves after UVC irradiation. These results further demonstrate the importance of UVR tolerance in the ability of bacterial strains to maintain population size in the phyllosphere. However, an examination of several bacterial species from the peanut phyllosphere and a collection of environmental Pseudomonas spp. revealed that sensitivity to UVA and UVC radiation was correlated in some but not all of these bacteria. These results underscore a need to further understand the biological effects of different solar wavelength groups on microbial ecology.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Agricultural Experiment Stations of Texas and Michigan. We thank the researchers listed in Table 1 for bacterial strains, S. Sabaratnam and T. Gunasekera for critical reviews of the manuscript, and three anonymous reviewers whose comments strengthened the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    J.L. Jacobs, T.L. Carroll & G.W. Sundin

  2. Department of Plant Pathology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    J.L. Jacobs & G.W. Sundin

  3. Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    G.W. Sundin

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  1. J.L. Jacobs
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Correspondence to G.W. Sundin.

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Jacobs, J., Carroll, T. & Sundin, G. The Role of Pigmentation, Ultraviolet Radiation Tolerance, and Leaf Colonization Strategies in the Epiphytic Survival of Phyllosphere Bacteria. Microb Ecol 49, 104–113 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-003-1061-4

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