Fire blight - Erwinia amylovora

Plant pathogenic bacterial genera

Erwinia Pseudomonas Ralstonia Xanthomonas Agrobacterium (Rhizobium)

Clavibacter Bacillus Streptomyces Xylella Phytoplasma

pathovar (pv.) bacterial subspecies with distinctive host specificity or other pathogenic characteristic

Types of bacterial plant diseases

Foliar diseases (e.g., spot, speck, streak, blight) Vascular diseases (e.g., wilt, blight)

Soft rots
Developmental diseases (e.g., canker, scab, gall)

(Several slides showing diversity of bacterial diseases of plants omitted here to keep file size down. See Plant Pathology text by Agrios.)

Key terms and concepts

Bacterial interactions with plants: populations over time

Virulent, compatible

Avirulent, incompatible Non-pathogenic

Alfano and Collmer 1996

Disease resistance

Cultivar/race specificity is governed by avr-R gene interaction Rice cultivar Xa10/- xa10/xa10 Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

avrXa10

(-)

Key terms

Race - strains of a species or pathovar with specificity for particular plant varieties (e.g., cultivars)
Resistance gene - dominant gene in the plant that mediates recognition and defense response to specific pathogen race Avirulence gene - bacterial gene required to elicit R-genemediated defense; usually encodes secreted effector protein HR - hypersensitive reaction; localized cell death; resistance marker

Major classes of molecular tools

Major findings Pectic enzymes

- Soft rot Erwinia spp. - Multiple isozymes, some plant regulated

Toxins
- e.g., coronatine acts as JA mimic to downregulate plant defense

Extracellular polysaccharides
- Important in many diseases, esp. vascular diseases - Postulated roles in protection from plant-derived antimicrobials, osmotic stress, dessication; evading recognition; causing wilt, etc.

Quorum sensing (cell-cell signaling) and global regulation of virulence

- Soft rot Erwinia spp. regulation of virulence associated genes, including pectic enzymes - Cell wall degradation products elicit plant defense, so benefit to repressing pectolytic activity until high numbers of bacteria accumulate.

The Type III secretion (Hrp) pathway

- Essential for necrogenic Gram negative pathogens

Buttner and Bonas 2010 FEMS Micro Rev

Buttner and Bonas 2010 FEMS Micro Rev

Type III secretion

The Hrp pathway

A type III secretion pathway, broadly conserved among gramnegative pathogens of plants and animals
Macromolecular structure,Hrp pilus, acts as conduit for traffic
(called needle complex in animal pathogens)

Encoded by clustered hrp genes

Required for hypersensitive reaction and pathogenicity

Expression induced in planta and in defined minimal media Capable of delivering proteins into host cells Secretes and delivers effector proteins a) virulence factors b) avirulence factors

Type III secretion

Seminal observations

AvrB functions within the plant cell R

GUS GUS + Avr GUS

r
GUS + Avr

Gopalan et al. (1996) Plant Cell 8:1095

AvrBs3 is delivered into plant cells by Xcv and localizes to the nucleus a-AvrBs3 Xcv(avrBs3)

DAPI
ECW30

XcvhrcV-(avrBs3)

Xcv(avrBs3D1) Xcv(avrBs3DNLS)

Xcv(avrBs3)

ECW30R

Szurek et al. (2002) Mol Microbiol 46:13

The Hrp pilus elongates at its tip

a-FLAG, pmer::hrpAFLAG MM

MM ->MM+HgCl2 15

MM ->MM+HgCl2 30

MM ->MM+HgCl2 60

and acts as a conduit for HrpZ

a-HrpZ, pmer::hrpZ MM ->MM+HgCl2 15

MM ->MM+HgCl2 30

MM+HgCl2 30

Li et al. (2002) EMBO J. 21:1909

Type III secretion

Effector diversity and function

AvrPto is myristylated by the plant cell

Myristylation Motif p60v-src AvrPto

M - G[SVALQN]xx[STAGCN]notP
M - G M - G S N SK IC S V K G

AvrPto::GFP

AvrPto(G2A)::GFP

AvrPto

Autorad

Ponceau

XopD is a cysteine protease of plant SUMOlated proteins

Fig. 5. XopD functions as a SUMO isopeptidase in planta. N. benthamiana leaves were inoculated with one or two A. tumefaciens strains expressing the vector control, tomato HA-SUMO, XopD-HA or XopD-HA C470A. Individual strains were inoculated at 6 x 108 cells ml-1. For coinoculations, strains were mixed equally and injected into the leaf at a final density of 1.2 x 109 cells ml-1. Forty-eight hours after inoculation, total protein was extracted from infected leaves and analysed by immunoblot analysis using HA antisera.

Hotson et al. (2003). Mol Microbiol 50, 377-389.

AvrPtoB is an E3 ubiquitin ligase E3 ubiquitin ligase targets a host protein kinase to disrupt plant immunity
Rosebrock et al, Nature 2007

Rosebrock et al, Nature 2007

PthXo1 induces expression of a susceptibility gene

Yang, B., Sugio, A., and White, F.F. (2006) PNAS 103, 10503-10508.

Bogdanove et al. 2010

hrp mutants of X. campestris pv. vesicatoria elicit papillae in pepper

Brown et al. (1995) MPMI 8:825

Lindeberg et al, 2009 MPP