Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii rosR is required for interaction with clover, biofilm formation and adaptation to the environment

BMC Microbiology

Research Article

Tomasz Piersiak¹  Monika Janczarek²  Anna Skorupska²  Jolanta Kutkowska² 

[1] Department of Comparative Anatomy and Anthropology, University of M. Curie-Skłodowska, Akademicka 19, 20-033, Lublin, Poland;Department of Genetics and Microbiology, University of M. Curie-Skłodowska, Akademicka 19, 20-033, Lublin, Poland;

关键词: Root Hair;    Infection Thread;    Clover Root;    79CA Medium;    Rt2441 Mutant;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2180-10-284

 received in 2010-04-21, accepted in 2010-11-11,  发布年份 2010

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundRhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii is a symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacterium that elicits nodules on roots of host plants Trifolium spp. Bacterial surface polysaccharides are crucial for establishment of a successful symbiosis with legumes that form indeterminate-type nodules, such as Trifolium, Pisum, Vicia, and Medicago spp. and aid the bacterium in withstanding osmotic and other environmental stresses. Recently, the R. leguminosarum bv. trifolii RosR regulatory protein which controls exopolysaccharide production has been identified and characterized.ResultsIn this work, we extend our earlier studies to the characterization of rosR mutants which exhibit pleiotropic phenotypes. The mutants produce three times less exopolysaccharide than the wild type, and the low-molecular-weight fraction in that polymer is greatly reduced. Mutation in rosR also results in quantitative alterations in the polysaccharide constituent of lipopolysaccharide. The rosR mutants are more sensitive to surface-active detergents, antibiotics of the beta-lactam group and some osmolytes, indicating changes in the bacterial membranes. In addition, the rosR mutants exhibit significant decrease in motility and form a biofilm on plastic surfaces, which differs significantly in depth, architecture, and bacterial viability from that of the wild type. The most striking effect of rosR mutation is the considerably decreased attachment and colonization of root hairs, indicating that the mutation affects the first stage of the invasion process. Infection threads initiate at a drastically reduced rate and frequently abort before they reach the base of root hairs. Although these mutants form nodules on clover, they are unable to fix nitrogen and are outcompeted by the wild type in mixed inoculations, demonstrating that functional rosR is important for competitive nodulation.ConclusionsThis report demonstrates the significant role RosR regulatory protein plays in bacterial stress adaptation and in the symbiotic relationship between clover and R. leguminosarum bv. trifolii 24.2.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Janczarek et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2010