CrxV对水稻白叶枯病菌致病力的调控

为分析GGDEF和EAL结构域的蛋白CrxV对水稻黄单胞菌（Xanthomonas oryzaepv.oryzae,Xoo）致病性及相关致病因子的影响,通过同源重组法构建了crxV的突变体及其互补菌株;采用剪叶法比较了突变体、野生型和互补菌株对水稻叶片的侵染能力;分析了这3个菌株产生相关致病因子（运动性、胞外多糖、生物被膜和胞外酶）的能力。结果显示,crxV突变体的致病力比野生型和互补菌株的低。crxV突变导致病原菌生物被膜含量显著升高,但对运动性、胞外多糖和胞外酶均无明显影响。结果表明,CrxV可能通过负调控生物被膜影响Xoo的致病性。     

水稻白叶枯病菌毒性表达的负调控因子PXO_02944的分子鉴定

【目的】水稻黄单胞水稻致病变种（Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, 简称Xoo）侵染引起水稻白叶枯病,在侵染过程中Xoo可产生胞外多糖(EPS)、胞外酶、黏附因子、T3SS以及其产生的效应因子等毒性因子。细菌第二信使环鸟苷二磷酸（c-di-GMP）的水平在Xoo毒性调控中发挥了重要的作用,而PXO_02944是包含REC、GGDEF和EAL结构域的蛋白,是c-di-GMP信号蛋白家族的成员,研究旨在阐明水稻白叶枯病菌的环鸟苷二磷酸信号蛋白家族成员PXO_02944的基因结构和功能。【方法】根据PXO_02944基因序列信息,以PXO99A基因组DNA为模板,设计引物扩增PXO_02944基因全长,将其GGDEF结构域和EAL结构域分别与已经报道的保守的GGDEF结构域或EAL结构域蛋白进行氨基酸序列比对分析;分别扩增PXO_02944左右臂片段,将其与目的载体pK18mobsacB载体连接,得到质粒pK2944,将pK2944与pMD-GmR载体回收获得的GmR基因片段进行连接,获得重组质粒pK2944-GmR,用于构建基因突变体。将PXO_02944全长基因克隆到载体pHM1上,获得重组质粒pHM1-2944并转化到ΔPXO_02944中,即获得互补菌株ΔPXO_02944::C。对野生型菌株、突变体和互补菌株进行表型测定,分析PXO_02944 基因缺失突变对Xoo致病性和EPS产生、生物膜形成、胞外酶活性和鞭毛运动性的影响,并通过qRT-PCR方法测定EPS合成基因和毒性相关基因的表达。【结果】用特异性引物进行PCR扩增,成功地从野生型菌株PXO99A中克隆了PXO_02944;生物信息学分析发现,PXO_02944蛋白具有磷酸化信号接收的REC输入结构域和GGDEF、EAL输出结构域,但GGDEF和EAL结构域保守序列发生了突变。与野生型菌株PXO99A相比,虽然PXO_02944突变体胞外纤维素酶和木聚糖酶活性、鞭毛运动性都无明显变化, 但其对水稻的致病性、EPS产生和生物膜形成能力显著增强,T3SS调控基因hrpG和EPS合成基因gumG的转录水平也明显升高。【结论】应答调控因子PXO_02944负调控了水稻白叶枯病菌致病性、EPS产生和生物膜形成这些毒性因子的表达。     

The Twin-Arginine Translocation （Tat） Pathway Is Essential for Virulence,Flagellation, and Chemotaxis in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola Strain RsGD42

Bacterial leaf streak, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola, is an important disease of rice （Oryza sativa）. Genetic determinants （tatABC genes） of the twin-arginine translocation （Tat） pathway from X. oryzae pv. oryzicola strain RsGD42 were cloned and characterized, meanwhile, a tatC disruption mutant was generated. The tatC mutant lacked detectable flagella and was highly impaired in motility and chemotaxis. Furthermore, it was observed that the tatC mutant exhibited a reduced production of extracellular polysaccharide （EPS） and a significant reduction of virulence on adult rice plants compared to wild type strain. However, the tatC mutation in X. oryzae pv. oryzieola strain RsGD42 did not affect the growth rate and the ability to induce hypersensitive response （HR） in nonhost tobacco （Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Samsun）. In conclusion, the data indicated that the Tat pathway significantly contributed to the virulence of X. oryzae pv. oryzicola.     

Construction and Virulence of Filamentous Hemagglutinin Protein B1 Mutant of Pasteurella multocida in Chickens

Pasteurella multocida, a Gram-negative nonmotile coccobacillus, is the causative agent of fowl cholera, bovine hemorrhagic septicemia, enzoonotic pneumonia and swine atropic rhinitis. Two filamentous hemagglutinin genes, fhaB1 and JhaB2, are the potential virulence factors. In this study, an inactivationfhaB1 mutant ofP. multocida in avian strain C48-102 was constructed by a kanamycin-resistance cassette. The virulence of thefhaB1 mutant and the wild type strain was assessed in chickens by intranasal and intramuscular challenge. The inactivation offhaB1 resulted in a high degree of attenuation when the chickens were challenged intranasally and a lesser degree when challenged intramuscularly. ThefhaB1 mutant and the wild type strain were investigated their sensitivity to the antibody-dependent classical complement-mediated killing pathway in 90% convalescent chicken serum. ThefhaB1 mutant was serum sensitive as the viability has reduced between untreated serum and heat inactivated chicken serum （P〈0.007）. These results confirmed that FhaB1 played the critical roles in the bacterial pathogenesis and further studies were needed to investigate the mechanism which caused reduced virulence of the fhaB1 mutant.     

FgHAT2 is involved in regulating vegetative growth,conidiation, DNA damage repair,DON production and virulence in Fusarium graminearum

Histone lysine acetylation is catalyzed by acetyltransferases(HATs), which is important in regulating gene expression and physiological function in eukaryotic cells. HATs can be classified into two main types: A-and B-type HATs. Recently, in Fusarium graminearum, it has been reported that A-type HATs are involved in hyphal development, conidiation, sexual reproduction and virulence. However, the biological roles of B-type HATs are unknown. Here we report the identification and characterization of two B-type HATs(FgHat1 and FgHat2) in F. graminearum. Targeted deletion of FgHAT1 did not result in any detectable phenotypes. However, ΔFghat2 mutants were severely defective in vegetative growth, conidia production and morphogenesis, deoxynivalenol(DON) biosynthesis and virulence. Interestingly, deletion of Fg HAT2 resulted in significantly increased sensitivity to the DNA-damaging agent methyl methanesulfonate(MMS). Furthermore, double deletion mutants(ΔFghat1ΔFghat2) displayed similar phenotypes to the ΔFghat2 mutants. Taken together, we conclude that FgHat2 but not FgHat1 plays essential roles in regulating morphogenesis, DNA damage repair, DON production and virulence in F. graminearum.     

水稻白叶枯病菌tatB基因的克隆及功能分析

根据水稻白叶枯病菌(Xanthomonas oryzae pv.oryzae,Xoo)PXO99的tatB基因序列设计引物,采用PCR方法从PXO99中克隆了tatB基因,命名为tatBXoo。通过同源重组的方法,构建了tatBXoo的插入突变株TBM,在含有X-gluc的抗性平板上筛选,并经Southern blot杂交验证确认。表型测定结果表明:与野生型相比,tatB突变株在水稻(寄主)上的致病性减弱,但在烟草(非寄主)上仍具有引起过敏反应的能力;tatB突变导致Xoo致病相关的重要表型如胞外多糖减少,游动性及趋化性减弱。但是,tatB突变不影响Xoo在基本培养基(MMX)中正常生长、胞外纤维素酶产生和生物膜形成。     

A novel glycoside hydrolase 74 xyloglucanase CvGH74A is a virulence factor in Coniella vitis

Grape white rot is a destructive fungal disease occurring worldwide. Recently, Coniella vitis was identified as the predominant pathogen causing this disease in China. As the periderms of grape shoots are severely degraded by C. vitis, it was speculated that cell wall-degrading enzymes (CWDEs) might play a key role in the pathogenesis of this disease. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the hydrolytic activity of the CWDEs of C. vitis. The results showed that xylanase (Xy) and xyloglucanase (XEG) had high levels of hydrolytic activity both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, a high-virulence fungal strain exhibited higher levels of Xy and XEG activities compared with a low-virulence strain. The genome of the fungus was found to harbor two XEG-coding genes CvGH74A and CvGH74B, which belonged to the glycoside hydrolase (GH)74 family. The expression level of CvGH74A was found to be high during pathogen infection. CvGH74A gene deletion mutants were generated using the split-marker method. The deletion of CvGH74A decreased both the hydrolytic activities of XEG and Xy and also the ability of the fungus to infect the grape leaves. No differences in the hyphal growth, morphology of colonies, or conidiation were found between the ΔCvGH74A mutant strains and the wild-type strain. Together, these results suggested that CvGH74A acted as an important virulence factor, and its enzymatic activity might regulate the virulence of the pathogen. This study was novel in reporting that GH74 XEG acted as a virulence factor in C. vitis.     

苹果树腐烂病菌根皮苷水解酶基因Vmlph1的功能

为明确根皮苷降解酶在苹果树腐烂病菌侵染过程中的作用,从苹果树腐烂病菌基因组序列中鉴定出候选根皮苷降解酶基因Vmlph1,利用Double-joint PCR和PEG介导的原生质体转化技术构建Vmlph1敲除突变体,观察突变体营养生长状况、产孢情况以及致病力的变化;利用HPLC方法检测基因敲除对根皮苷降解速率的影响。结果发现,经PCR及Southern blot验证后获得Vmlph1基因的敲除突变体;与野生型菌株相比,突变体菌落颜色变白,生长速率和产孢能力显著降低;接种到叶片和枝条上,突变体致病力显著降低;突变体根皮苷降解能力与野生型没有显著差异;在根皮苷诱导下,野生型菌株黑色素合成调控转录因子Cmr1基因的表达量显著上调,但突变体Cmr1基因的上调倍数显著低于野生型菌株。表明,根皮苷降解酶基因Vmlph1与苹果树腐烂病菌营养生长、致病力、分生孢子的产生及黑色素合成有关。     

Evaluating the efficacy of an attenuated Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus vaccine produced by multi-gene deletion in pathogenicity island SeseCisland_4

Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus(SEZ) is a pathogen associated with a wild range of animal species. Frequent outbreaks have occurred in recent years in pigs, horses, goats and dogs which is liable to infect humans. There is a lack of efficient vaccines against this disease and the occurrence of antibiotic resistance may render drug therapies ineffective. In this study, gene deletion mutant(ΔSEZ) in pathogenicity islands SeseCisland_4 was constructed. The mutant ΔSEZ had a 52-fold decrease in 50% lethal dose(LD_(50)) and had less capacity to adhere epithelial cells. Importantly, immunization of mice with attenuated vaccine ΔSEZ at the dose of 10~2 colony-forming units(CFU) mL~(–1) elicited a significant humoral antibody response, with an antibody titer of 1:12 800. Therefore, 10~2 CFU mL~(–1) might be used as the appropriate immune dose for the attenuated vaccine ΔSEZ, which provided mice with efficient protection against virulent SEZ. In addition, the hyperimmune sera against 10~2 CFU m L–1 attenuated vaccine ΔSEZ could confer significant protection against virulent SEZ infection in the passive immunization experiment and exhibited efficient bactericidal activity in the whole blood assay. Meanwhile, no viable bacteria was detected in blood when mice were immunized with ΔSEZ at the dose of 10~2 CFU mL~(–1) via hypodermic injection. Thereafter, the mutant ΔSEZ at the dose of 10~2 CFU mL~(–1) could confer significant protection in mice and had less negative effects on host, which could be an effective attenuated vaccine candidate for the prevention of SEZ.     

Xoryp_08180 of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola,Encoding a Hypothetical Protein,is Regulated by HrpG and HrpX and Required for Full Virulence in Rice

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola (Xoc) causes a destructive bacterial leaf streak disease in rice. Some of the gene products annotated as hypothetical proteins in the genome of Xoc may contribute to its virulence in rice. A mutant, Mxoc1679, screened from our previous Tn5-tagged mutant library for Xoc strain RS105, showed reduced virulence in rice. In this mutant, a gene named as Xoryp_08180 was disrupted by Tn5 insertion. Xoryp_08180 encodes a 1 306-aa hypothetical protein which is highly conserved in Xanthomonas spp. Non-polar mutation of Xoryp_08180 in RS105 strain led to a significant reduction in bacterial virulence and growth in rice, a delayed hypersensitive response (HR) in non-host tobacco, and a decrease in extracellular protease activity. The deficiencies above were restored to wild-type level in the complementary strain by expressing Xoryp_08180 in trans. In addition, the expression of Xoryp_08180 was repressed in hrpG and hrpX mutants in planta but not in a nutrient-rich condition. These results suggested that Xoryp_08180 is a virulence factor required for extracellular protease production, HR induction and full virulence of Xoc.     

水稻条斑病菌xopQ1_(Xoc)在病程中功能的初步研究

【目的】基因组学揭示,水稻细菌性条斑病菌(Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola,Xoc)中存在与丁香假单胞菌(Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato,Pst)中通过Ⅲ型分泌系统分泌的HopQ1-1同源的XopQ1Xoc,但其是否为T3S效应分子以及在病菌致病性中的功能并不清楚。【方法】通过基因敲除技术,获得了水稻条斑病菌xopQ1Xoc的突变体。【结果】致病性测定结果发现,xopQ1Xoc突变后,病菌在水稻上的毒性增强,细菌生长能力增强。非常有意义的是,xopQ1Xoc突变体菌液浓度为3×108CFU/mL时仍能在烟草上激发过敏反应,但在浓度为104CFU/mL时,8d后可在烟草上产生坏死症状。功能互补结果显示,xopQ1Xoc能够恢复突变体在水稻上的毒性至野生型水平和在烟草上丧失产生坏死病斑的能力。Western杂交结果显示,XopQ1Xoc不能通过T3S装置进行分泌。【结论】XopQ1Xoc是水稻条斑病菌T3S效应分子,可能作用于植物的免疫系统,有利于病害的发展。为进一步揭示水稻-黄单胞菌互作的分子机理提供了科学线索。     

水稻基腐病菌flhDC和fliA基因的功能

【目的】水稻细菌性基腐病(致病菌Dickeya zeae)是水稻重要细菌病害之一。细菌的鞭毛是重要的运动器官,迄今有关水稻基腐病菌的鞭毛系统、flh DC和fli A基因功能及其调控机理尚不清楚,明确这些鞭毛基因的功能,有利于进一步了解D.zeae的致病性综合调控网络、开发新型药物作用靶标以及制定病害防控策略。论文旨在明确D.zeae鞭毛系统中flh DC和fli A在致病性中的作用。【方法】以D.zeae野生型致病菌株EC1基因组DNA为模板,设计一系列引物,PCR扩增待敲除的目标基因flh DC和fli A各自的上、下游片段,再以混合的上、下游片段为模板,扩增得到缺失flh DC和fli A的融合片段,双酶切纯化后连接到自杀性载体p KNG101上,构建带有反向筛选标记基因sac B的自杀重组质粒p KNG-Δflh DC和p KNG-ΔfliA,通过三亲转化方法分别将重组质粒导入野生型菌株EC1中,通过两次等位基因同源重组,PCR检测和测序验证,最终获得目标基因flh DC和fli A缺失突变体Δflh DC和ΔfliA;测定并比较突变体与野生菌的胞外酶活性、毒素活性、运动性、生物膜形成能力,以及对水稻的致病力和对烟草的过敏性反应(HR);进一步提取细菌总RNA,以16Sr DNA为内参来校正目标基因的表达量,采用实时荧光定量PCR(q RT-PCR)方法,比较野生菌和突变体Δflh DC和ΔfliA下游基因flh D、flh C、fli A和fli C的表达量差异。【结果】通过基因操作手段成功构建了基因缺失突变体Δflh DC和ΔfliA。表型测定结果显示,野生菌EC1的运动性和形成生物膜的能力很强,而基因缺失菌株Δflh DC和ΔfliA的运动性和形成生物膜的能力明显下降;野生菌株EC1对水稻种子萌发具有很强的抑制作用,而突变体Δflh DC和ΔfliA则显著降低了对水稻种子萌发的抑制作用;接种野生菌株EC1的水稻植株产生大面积褐色病斑,且腐烂程度严重,而接种突变体Δflh DC和ΔfliA的水稻植株只在接种的针刺部位周围出现水渍状褐色病斑,腐烂程度轻微,说明突变体菌株Δflh DC和ΔfliA显著降低了对水稻植株上的致病力。进一步的表型测定结果显示,突变体菌株Δflh DC和ΔfliA与野生菌EC1在产生胞外致病酶、毒素以及引起烟草HR能力等方面没有显著差异。q RT-PCR分析结果显示,在突变体菌株Δflh DC中,flh D和flh C不表达,fli A和fli C的表达量较野生菌明显下降;而在突变体ΔfliA中,flh D、flh C和fli A均不表达,fli C表达明显下降。【结论】调控细菌鞭毛基因表达的主调控因子flh DC操纵子,以及表达鞭毛特异性因子σ~(28)基因fli A,是细菌鞭毛系统基因簇的重要组分。flhDC和fliA显著影响D.zeae的运动性和生物膜形成能力,并显著影响水稻种子的萌发功能,在水稻基腐病菌的致病性中起重要作用。     

Horizontal gene transfer of a syp homolog contributes to the virulence of Burkholderia glumae

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) has been proved a major driving force in prokaryotic evolution. However, the molecular functions of these transferred genes in pathogenic bacteria especially plant pathogenic bacteria are still not fully investigated. In this study, the whole-genome in silico analysis was performed and found a syringopeptin synthetase (syp) homolog in Burkholderia glumae, which can cause bacterial panicle blight in rice, was predicted to be horizontally transferred from Pseudomonas ancestor with solid confidence by phylogenetic analysis. The comprehensive molecular experiments were performed to study the potential role of this gene in B. glumae. Inoculation of rice panicles with the syp mutant resulted in 60% lower disease index compared with the wild type (WT) parent strain, suggesting the requirement of syp for the full virulence of B. glumae. Chromatography analysis of exudates from B. glumae showed suppression of synthesis of metabolites analogous to syringopeptin in the mutants. All these data raise the possibility of HGT phenomenon in shaping the virulence and adaptation of B. glumae over evolutionary time.     

Less hairy leaf 1, an RNaseH-like protein,regulates trichome formation in rice through auxin

The trichomes of rice leaves are formed by the differentiation and development of epidermal cells. Plant trichomes play an important role in stress resistance and protection against direct ultraviolet irradiation. However, the development of rice trichomes remains poorly understood. In this study, we conducted ethylmethane sulfonate (EMS)-mediated mutagenesis on the wild-type (WT) indica rice ‘Xida 1B’. Phenotypic analysis led to the screening of a mutant that is defective in trichome development, designated lhl1 (less hairy leaf 1). We performed map-based cloning and localized the mutated gene to the 70-kb interval between the molecular markers V-9 and V-10 on chromosome 2. The locus LOC_Os02g25230 was identified as the candidate gene by sequencing. We constructed RNA interference (LHL1-RNAi) and overexpression lines (LHL1-OE) to verity the candidate gene. The leaves of the LHL1-RNAi lines showed the same trichome developmental defects as the lhl1 mutant, whereas the trichome morphology on the leaf surface of the LHL1-OE lines was similar to that of the WT, although the number of trichomes was significantly higher. Quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis revealed that the expression levels of auxin-related genes and positive regulators of trichome development in the lhl1 mutant were down-regulated compared with the WT. Hormone response analysis revealed that LHL1 expression was affected by auxin. The results indicate that the influence of LHL1 on trichome development in rice leaves may be associated with an auxin pathway.     

Genomic characteristics of Dickeya fangzhongdai isolates from pear and the function of type IV pili in the chromosome

Dickeya fangzhongdai, the causal agent of bleeding canker of pear, is a new member of the Dickeya genus and the only one that infects woody plants. Recent studies have reclassified several Dickeya isolates as D. fangzhongdai, which were isolated from various environments, including water, Phalaenopsis sp. and Aglaonema sp. To provide genomic characterization of D. fangzhongdai isolates from pear, the genomes of D. fangzhongdai strain JS5 (=China General Microbiological Culture Collection Center, CGMCC 1.15464^T=DSM 101947^T), along with two other isolates, LN1 and QZH3, were sequenced and compared to those of other Dickeya spp. Homology greater than 99% was observed among three D. fangzhongdai strains. Plasmid, type IV secretion system (T4SS) and type IV pili (TFPs) were found in genomes of D. fangzhongdai isolates. Comparative analysis of the type III secretion systems (T3SS), type III secretion effectors (T3SE), plant cell wall degradation enzymes (PCWDE) and membrane transport proteins of Dickeya spp. showed some differences which might reflect the variations of virulence, phylogenetic and phenotypic characteristics of Dickeya spp. In addition, deletion mutant of TFP in D. fangzhongdai JS5 showed no twitching motility and reduced virulence and biofilm formation. The fingdings of the distinctive plasmid, T4SS and TFPs, as well as the differences of T3SE, PCWDE and membrane transport proteins make D. fangzhongdai isolates unique. These results also suggested that acquisition of virulence genes by horizontal gene transfer might play some role in the genetic variation of D. fangzhongdai.     

StKU80, a component in the NHEJ repair pathway,is involved in mycelial morphogenesis,conidiation, appressorium development,and oxidative stress reactions in Exserohilum turcicum

Homologous recombination(HR) and nonhomologous end joining(NHEJ) are considered the two main double-strand break(DSB) repair approaches in eukaryotes. Inhibiting the activities of the key component in NHEJ commonly enhances the efficiency of targeted gene knockouts or affects growth and development in higher eukaryotes. However, little is known about the roles of the NHEJ pathway in foliar pathogens. Here we identified a gene designated St KU80, which encodes a putative DNA end-binding protein homologous to yeast Ku80, in the foliar pathogen Exserohilum turcicum. Conserved domain analysis showed that the typical domains VWA, Ku78 and Ku-PK-bind are usually present in Ku70/80 proteins in eukaryotes and are also present in St Ku80. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that St Ku80 is most closely related to Ku80(XP_001802136.1) from Parastagonospora nodorum, followed by Ku80(AGF90044.1) from Monascus ruber. Furthermore, the gene knockout mutants ΔSt KU80-1 and ΔSt KU80-2 were obtained. These mutants displayed longer septas, thinner cell walls, smaller amounts of substances on cell wall surfaces, and more mitochondria per cell than the wild-type(WT) strain but similar HT-toxin activity. The mutants did not produce conidia and mature appressoria. On the other hand, the mutants were highly sensitive to H_2O_2, but not to ultraviolet radiation. In summary, the St KU80 plays devious roles in regulating the development of E. turcicum.