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The behavior of Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum strain OE1-1 and morphological changes of cells in tomato roots

  • Regular Paper–Ecology/Ecophysiology/Environmental Biology
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Abstract

The soil-borne Gram-negative β-proteobacterium Ralstonia solanacearum species complex (RSSC) infects tomato roots through the wounds where secondary roots emerge, infecting xylem vessels. Because it is difficult to observe the behavior of RSSC by a fluorescence-based microscopic approach at high magnification, we have little information on its behavior at the root apexes in tomato roots. To analyze the infection route of a strain of phylotype I of RSSC, R. pseudosolanacearum strain OE1-1, which invades tomato roots through the root apexes, we first developed an in vitro pathosystem using 4 day-old-tomato seedlings without secondary roots co-incubated with the strain OE1-1. The microscopic observation of toluidine blue-stained longitudinal semi-thin resin sections of tomato roots allowed to detect attachment of the strain OE1-1 to surfaces of the meristematic and elongation zones in tomato roots. We then observed colonization of OE1-1 in intercellular spaces between epidermis and cortex in the elongation zone, and a detached epidermis in the elongation zone. Furthermore, we observed cortical and endodermal cells without a nucleus and with the cell membrane pulling away from the cell wall. The strain OE1-1 next invaded cell wall-degenerated cortical cells and formed mushroom-shaped biofilms to progress through intercellular spaces of the cortex and endodermis, infecting pericycle cells and xylem vessels. The deletion of egl encoding β-1,4-endoglucanase, which is one of quorum sensing (QS)-inducible plant cell wall-degrading enzymes (PCDWEs) secreted via the type II secretion system (T2SS) led to a reduced infectivity in cortical cells. Furthermore, the QS-deficient and T2SS-deficient mutants lost their infectivity in cortical cells and the following infection in xylem vessels. Taking together, infection of OE1-1, which attaches to surfaces of the meristematic and elongation zones, in cortical cells of the elongation zone in tomato roots, dependently on QS-inducible PCDWEs secreted via the T2SS, leads to its subsequent infection in xylem vessels.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the experimental assistance of Mr. Hiroki Kawamoto and Ms. Nobuko Sato.

Funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (no. 22K05650) to KI. This work was also supported by a Cabinet Office Grant-in-Aid, the Advanced Next-Generation Greenhouse Horticulture by IoP (Internet of Plants), Japan and a grant from the Institute for Fermentation to YH, and a Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from the Japan Science Society to WS (no. 2020–4094) and CT (no. 2021–4040).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Ultra-High Voltage Electron Microscopy, Osaka University, Ibaraki, Japan

    Kanako Inoue

  2. Faculty of Agriculture and Marine Science, Kochi University, 783-8502, Nankoku, Kochi, Japan

    Chika Takemura, Wakana Senuma, Akinori Kiba, Kouhei Ohnishi, Masayuki Tsuzuki & Yasufumi Hikichi

  3. Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology, Ryukoku University, Otsu, Japan

    Hidefumi Maeda

  4. Graduate School of Agriculture, Osaka Metropolitan University, Sakai, Japan

    Kenji Kai

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  1. Kanako Inoue
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Contributions

KI, KK, AK, KO, MT and YH conceived and designed the analysis; KI, CT, WS, HM and MT performed the analyses; KI and MT interpreted the results and wrote the manuscript with YH. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and revised the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yasufumi Hikichi.

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Inoue, K., Takemura, C., Senuma, W. et al. The behavior of Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum strain OE1-1 and morphological changes of cells in tomato roots. J Plant Res 136, 19–31 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-022-01427-3

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