| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Dunger, German
[1]
;
Guzzo, Cristiane R.
[1, 2]
;
Andrade, Maxuel O.
[1]
;
Jones, Jeffrey B.
[3]
;
Farah, Chuck S.
[1]
Total Authors: 5
|
| Affiliation: | [1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Quim, Dept Bioquim, BR-05508000 Sao Paulo - Brazil
[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Microbiol, Inst Ciencias Biomed, BR-05508000 Sao Paulo - Brazil
[3] Univ Florida, Dept Plant Pathol, Gainesville, FL 32611 - USA
Total Affiliations: 3
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS; v. 27, n. 10, p. 1132-1147, OCT 2014. |
| Web of Science Citations: | 22 |
| Abstract | |
Bacterial type IV pili (T4P) are long, flexible surface filaments that consist of helical polymers of mostly pilin subunits. Cycles of polymerization, attachment, and depolymerization mediate several pilus-dependent bacterial behaviors, including twitching motility, surface adhesion, pathogenicity, natural transformation, escape from immune system defense mechanisms, and biofilm formation. The Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri strain 306 genome codes for a large set of genes involved in T4P biogenesis and regulation and includes several pilin homologs. We show that X. citri subsp. citri can exhibit twitching motility in a manner similar to that observed in other bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Xylella fastidiosa and that this motility is abolished in Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri knockout strains in the genes coding for the major pilin subunit PilA(XAC3241), the ATPases PilB(XAC3239) and PilT(XAC2924), and the T4P biogenesis regulators PilZ(XAC1133) and FiMX(XAC2398). Microscopy analyses were performed to compare patterns of bacterial migration in the wild-type and knockout strains and we observed that the formation of mushroom-like structures in X. citri subsp. citri biofilm requires a functional T4P. Finally, infection of X. citri subsp. citri cells by the bacteriophage Phi Xacm4-11 is T4P dependent. The results of this study improve our understanding of how T4P influence Xanthomonas motility, biofilm formation, and susceptibility to phage infection. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 11/07777-5 - Cyclic di-GMP signaling and the Type IV macromolecule secretion system in Xanthomonas citri |
| Grantee: | Shaker Chuck Farah |
| Support Opportunities: | Research Projects - Thematic Grants |
| FAPESP's process: | 11/22571-4 - Regulation of Xanthomonas citri Type IV pilus |
| Grantee: | Ricardo Germán Dunger |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral |