• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.77-82
• /
• 2001

Erwinia amylovora causes a devastating disease called fire blight in rosaceous trees and shrubs such as apple, pear, and raspberry. To successfully infect its hosts, the pathogen requires a set of clustered genes termed hrp. Studies on the hrp system of E. amylovora indicated that it consists of three functional classes of genes. Regulation genes including hrpS, hrpS, hrpXY, and hrpL produce proteins that control the expression of other genes in the cluster. Secretion genes, many of which named hrc, encode proteins that may form a transmembrane complex, which is devoted to type III protein secretion. Finally, several genes encode the proteins that are delivered by the protein secretion apparatus. They include harpins, DspE, and other potential effector proteins that may contribute to proliferation of E. amylovora inside the hosts. Harpins are glycine-rich heat-stable elicitors of the hypersensitive response, and induce systemic acquired resistance. The pathogenicity protein DseE is homologous and functionally similar to an avirulence protein of Pseudomonas syringae. The region encompassing the hrpldsp gene cluster of E. amylovora shows features characteristic of a genomic island : a cryptic recombinase/integrase gene and a tRNA gene are present at one end and genes corresponding to those of the Escherichia coli K-12 chromosome are found beyond the region. This island, designated the Hrp pathogenicity island, is more than 60 kilobases in size and carries as many as 60 genes.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.21-27
• /
• 1999

Nonpathogenic mutants of Xanthomonas campestris pv. glycines were generated with Omegon-Kim to isolate genes essential for pathogenicity and inducing hypersensitive response (HR). Three nonpathogenic multants and two mutants showing slow symptom development were isolated among 1,000 colonies tested. From two nonpathogenic mutants, 8-13 and 26-13, genes homologous to hrcC and hrpF of X. campestris pv. vesicatoria were identified. The nonpathogenic mutant 8-13 had a mutation in a gene homologous to hrpF of X. campestris pv. vesicatoria and failed to cause HR on pepper plants but still induced HR on tomato leaves. The nonpathogenic mutant 26-13 had an insertional mutation in a gene homologous to hrcC of X. campestris pv. vesicatoria and lost the ability to induce HR on pepper leaves but still caused HR on tomato plants. Unlike other phytopathogenic bacteria, the parent strain and these two mutants of X. campestris pv. glycines did not cause HR on tobacco plants. a cosmid clone, pBL1, that complemented the phenotypes of 8-13 was isolated. From the analysis of restriction enzyme mapping and deletion analyses of pBL1, a 9.0-kb Eco RI fragment restored the phenotypes of 8-13. pBL1 failed to complement the phenotypes of 26-13, indicating that the hrcC gene resides outside of the insert DNA of pBL1. One nonpathogenic mutant, 13-33, had a mutation in a gene homologous to a miaA gene encoding tRNA delta (2)-isopentenylpyrophosphate transferase of Escherichia coli. This indicated that tRNA modifications in X. campestris pv. glycines may be required for expression of genes necessary for pathogenicity. The mutant 13-33 multiplied as well as the parent strain did in the culture medium and in planta, indicating that loss of pathogenicity is not due to the inability of multiplication in vivo.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.38-47
• /
• 2016

The ascomycete fungus Mycosphaerella graminicola (synonym Zymoseptoria tritici) is an important pathogen of wheat causing economically significant losses. The primary nutritional mode of this fungus is thought to be hemibiotrophic. This pathogenic lifestyle is associated with an early biotrophic stage of nutrient uptake followed by a necrotrophic stage aided possibly by production of a toxin or reactive oxygen species (ROS). In many other fungi, the genes CREA and AREA are important during the biotrophic stage of infection, while the NOXa gene product is important during necrotrophic growth. To test the hypothesis that these genes are important for pathogenicity of M. graminicola, we employed an over-expression strategy for the selected target genes CREA, AREA, and NOXa, which might function as regulators of nutrient acquisition or ROS generation. Increased expressions of CREA, AREA, and NOXa in M. graminicola were confirmed via quantitative real-time PCR and strains were subsequently assayed for pathogenicity. Among them, the NOXa over-expression strain, NO2, resulted in significantly increased virulence. Moreover, instead of the usual filamentous growth, we observed a predominance of yeast-like growth of NO2 which was correlated with ROS production. Our data indicate that ROS generation via NOXa is important to pathogenicity as well as development in M. graminicola.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.33 no.5
• /
• pp.458-466
• /
• 2017

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), the causative agent of bacterial blight, is a major threat to rice productivity. Here, we performed RNA-Seq based transcriptomic analysis of Xoo transcripts isolated under in planta growth (on both susceptible and resistant hosts) and in vitro culture conditions. Our in planta extraction method resulted in successful enrichment of Xoo cells and provided RNA samples of high quality. A total of 4,619 differentially expressed genes were identified between in planta and in vitro growth conditions. The majority of the differentially expressed genes identified under in planta growth conditions were related to the nutrient transport, protease activity, stress tolerance, and pathogenicity. Among them, over 1,300 differentially expressed genes were determined to be secretory, including 184 putative type III effectors that may be involved in Xoo pathogenicity. Expression pattern of some of these identified genes were further validated by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Taken together, these results provide a transcriptome overview of Xoo under in planta and in vitro growth conditions with a focus on its pathogenic processes, deepening our understanding of the behavior and pathogenicity of Xoo.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.24 no.11
• /
• pp.1495-1502
• /
• 2014

Metarhizium anisopliae is a widely studied model to understand the virulence factors that participate in pathogenicity. Proteases such as subtilisin-like enzymes (Pr1) and trypsin-like enzymes (Pr2) are considered important factors for insect cuticle degradation. In four M. anisopliae strains (798, 6342, 6345, and 6347), the presence of pr1 and pr2 genes, as well as the enzymatic activity of these genes, was correlated with their virulence against two different insect pests. The 11 pr1 genes (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, and K) and pr2 gene were found in all strains. The activity of individual Pr1 and Pr2 proteases exhibited variation in time (24, 48, 72, and 96 h) and in the presence or absence of chitin as the inductor. The highest Pr1 enzymatic activity was shown by strain 798 at 48 h with chitin. The highest Pr2 enzymatic activity was exhibited by the 6342 and 6347 strains, both grown with chitin at 24 and 48 h, respectively. Highest mortality on S. exigua was caused by strain 6342 at 48 h, and strains 6342, 6345, and 6347 caused the highest mortality 7 days later. Mortality on Prosapia reached 30% without variation. The presence of subtilisin and trypsin genes and the activity of these proteases in M. anisopliae strains cannot be associated with the virulence against the two insect pests. Probably, subtilisin and trypsin enzyme production is not a vital factor for pathogenicity, but its contribution is important to the pathogenicity process.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.23 no.12
• /
• pp.1664-1672
• /
• 2013

In Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, many genes encoded within Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI1) are required to induce intestinal/diarrheal disease. In this study, we compared the expression of four SPI1 genes (hilA, invF, prgH, and sipC) under shaking and standing culture conditions and found that the expression of these genes was highest during the transition from the exponential to stationary phase under shaking conditions. To identify regulators associated with the stationary phase-dependent activation of SPI1, the effects of selected regulatory genes, including relA/spoT (ppGpp), luxS, ihfB, hfq, and arcA, on the expression of hilA and invF were compared under shaking conditions. Mutations in the hfq and arcA genes caused a reduction in hilA and invF expression (more than 2-fold) in the early stationary phase only, whereas the lack of ppGpp and IHF decreased hilA and invF gene expression during the entire stationary phase. We also found that hfq and arcA mutations caused a reduction of hilD expression upon entry into the stationary phase under shaking culture conditions. Taken together, these results suggest that Hfq and ArcA regulate the hilD promoter, causing an accumulation of HilD, which can trigger a stationary phase-dependent activation of SPI1 genes under shaking culture conditions.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.82.1-82.12
• /
• 2023

Background: The current conventional serotyping based on antigen-antisera agglutination could not provide a better understanding of the potential pathogenicity of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Brancaster. Surveillance data from Malaysian poultry farms indicated an increase in its presence over the years. Objective: This study aims to investigate the virulence determinants and antimicrobial resistance in S. Brancaster isolated from chickens in Malaysia. Methods: One hundred strains of archived S. Brancaster isolated from chicken cloacal swabs and raw chicken meat from 2017 to 2022 were studied. Two sets of multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were conducted to identify eight virulence genes associated with pathogenicity in Salmonella (invasion protein gene [invA], Salmonella invasion protein gene [sipB], Salmonella-induced filament gene [sifA], cytolethal-distending toxin B gene [cdtB], Salmonella iron transporter gene [sitC], Salmonella pathogenicity islands gene [spiA], Salmonella plasmid virulence gene [spvB], and inositol phosphate phosphatase gene [sopB]). Antimicrobial susceptibility assessment was conducted by disc diffusion method on nine selected antibiotics for the S. Brancaster isolates. S. Brancaster, with the phenotypic ACSSuT-resistance pattern (ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulphonamides, and tetracycline), was subjected to PCR to detect the corresponding resistance gene(s). Results: Virulence genes detected in S. Brancaster in this study were invA, sitC, spiA, sipB, sopB, sifA, cdtB, and spvB. A total of 36 antibiogram patterns of S. Brancaster with a high level of multidrug resistance were observed, with ampicillin exhibiting the highest resistance. Over a third of the isolates displayed ACSSuT-resistance, and seven resistance genes (β-lactamase temoneira [bla_TEM], florfenicol/chloramphenicol resistance gene [floR], streptomycin resistance gene [strA], aminoglycoside nucleotidyltransferase gene [ant(3")-Ia], sulfonamides resistance gene [sul-1, sul-2], and tetracycline resistance gene [tetA]) were detected. Conclusion: Multidrug-resistant S. Brancaster from chickens harbored an array of virulence-associated genes similar to other clinically significant and invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella serovars, placing it as another significant foodborne zoonosis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.9-18
• /
• 1990

To study the determinants which are involved in the loss of pathogenicity in wilt-inducing Pseudomoms solamcewum, several physlologica I functions were compared in a virulent P. solanacearum strain and an avirulent, spontaneously derived mutant strain. The polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed the distinction between two strains in the patterns and the relative intensity of proteins produced intracellularly or extracellularly. Enzyme assays showed that the level of polygalacturonase activity in the culture filtrate of the avirulent mutant was markedly reduced, while carboxymethylcellulase(rondoglucanase) activity in both strains were nearly negligible. These results suggest that the loss of pathogenicity in mutant strain is attributed in part to the reduced production of polygalacturonase. In audit ion, comparative analyses by agarose gel electrophoresis of DNA molecules isolated from both strains show that the pathogenicity genes of p. solanaceerum are not located on plasmid but are on chromosome.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.21 no.10
• /
• pp.1026-1035
• /
• 2011

Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which owes its origin to the marine environment, is considered as one of the most common causes of infectious diarrhea worldwide. The present study investigated the pathogenicity of V. parahaemolyticus against the model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans. Infection in the host was localized with GFP-tagged V. parahaemolyticus using confocal laser scanning microscopy. The times required for causing infection, bacterial load in intestine, chemotactic response, and alteration in pharyngeal pumping were analyzed in the host system. In addition, the regulation of innate immune-related genes, lys-7, clec- 60, and clec-87, was analyzed using real-time PCR. The role of immune-responsible pmk-1 was studied using mutant strains. The pathogenicity of environmental strain CM2 isolated from the Gulf of Mannar, India was compared with that of a reference strain obtained from ATCC. The pathogen infected animals appeared to ward off infection by up-regulating candidate antimicrobial genes for a few hours after the exposure, before succumbing to the pathogen. For the first time, the pathogenicity of V. parahaemolyticus at both the physiological and molecular levels has been studied in detail using the model organism C. elegans.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.54 no.2
• /
• pp.158-160
• /
• 2018

Streptomyces sp. P3 was isolated from potato scab diseased tubers in Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea in 2017. Here, we report the draft genome sequences of P3 with 9,851,971 bp size (71.2% GC content) of the chromosome. The genome comprises 8,548 CDS, 18 rRNA and 66 tRNA genes. Although strain P3 did not show pathogenicity both potato tuber assay and radish seedling assay, it possesses tomatinase (tomA) gene among conserved pathogenicity-related genes in well characterized pathogenic Streptomyces. Thus, the genome sequences determined in this study will be useful to understand for pathogenic evolution in Streptomyces species, which already adapted to potato scab pathogens.