The metabolic context for virulence in Pseudomonas syringae

<p>The apoplast is the site of infection for many important bacterial crop pathogens, including the model pathogen <em>Pseudomonas syringae</em> pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000). The chemical environment within the plant apoplast can determine the outcome of bacterial infection and t...

Fuld beskrivelse

Bibliografiske detaljer
Main Authors: McCraw, S, Sarah McCraw
Andre forfattere: Preston, G
Format: Thesis
Sprog:English
Udgivet: 2014
Fag:
_version_ 1826300399414411264
author McCraw, S
Sarah McCraw
author2 Preston, G
author_facet Preston, G
McCraw, S
Sarah McCraw
author_sort McCraw, S
collection OXFORD
description <p>The apoplast is the site of infection for many important bacterial crop pathogens, including the model pathogen <em>Pseudomonas syringae</em> pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000). The chemical environment within the plant apoplast can determine the outcome of bacterial infection and the composition of this compartment is known to change in response to the presence of invading organisms. However, this metabolically dynamic environment has received little attention in the literature, and even less is known about how metabolites in the apoplast influence the expression of virulence genes.</p> <p>In this study, several aspects of the metabolic context of virulence were assessed. First, a broad-scale analysis of the tomato apoplast was undertaken, which identified metal ions, sugars, organic acids and amino acids, the most abundant of which was the non-protein amino acid gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The impact these components had on the expression of virulence genes and metabolism in Pst DC3000 were then tested. Components such as fructose and aspartate caused high levels of virulence gene expression which correlated with the accumulation of intracellular glutamate, whereas repressive components, such as GABA and threonine, resulted in lower glutamate levels. Second, metabolic flux analysis showed that Pst DC3000 underwent major changes in central carbon metabolism in response to virulence gene inducing conditions. The identification of altered internal metabolism in Pst DC3000 cells expressing virulence genes led to the conclusion that Pst DC3000 may understand its external environment by sensing intracellular metabolites or metabolic fluxes. Third, the role of GABA assimilation in virulence was explored, and it was found that high internal GABA levels resulted in virulence gene repression. In addition, previously unidentified mechanisms for GABA uptake and transport were detected by the use of a novel ‘unlabelling’ experiment.</p>
first_indexed 2024-03-07T05:16:35Z
format Thesis
id oxford-uuid:dd6ae0c7-f850-4ba4-870d-d5583c76e1a6
institution University of Oxford
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-07T05:16:35Z
publishDate 2014
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:dd6ae0c7-f850-4ba4-870d-d5583c76e1a62022-03-27T09:24:50ZThe metabolic context for virulence in Pseudomonas syringaeThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:dd6ae0c7-f850-4ba4-870d-d5583c76e1a6BiochemistryMicrobiologyPlant SciencesEnglishOxford University Research Archive - Valet2014McCraw, SSarah McCrawPreston, G<p>The apoplast is the site of infection for many important bacterial crop pathogens, including the model pathogen <em>Pseudomonas syringae</em> pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000). The chemical environment within the plant apoplast can determine the outcome of bacterial infection and the composition of this compartment is known to change in response to the presence of invading organisms. However, this metabolically dynamic environment has received little attention in the literature, and even less is known about how metabolites in the apoplast influence the expression of virulence genes.</p> <p>In this study, several aspects of the metabolic context of virulence were assessed. First, a broad-scale analysis of the tomato apoplast was undertaken, which identified metal ions, sugars, organic acids and amino acids, the most abundant of which was the non-protein amino acid gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The impact these components had on the expression of virulence genes and metabolism in Pst DC3000 were then tested. Components such as fructose and aspartate caused high levels of virulence gene expression which correlated with the accumulation of intracellular glutamate, whereas repressive components, such as GABA and threonine, resulted in lower glutamate levels. Second, metabolic flux analysis showed that Pst DC3000 underwent major changes in central carbon metabolism in response to virulence gene inducing conditions. The identification of altered internal metabolism in Pst DC3000 cells expressing virulence genes led to the conclusion that Pst DC3000 may understand its external environment by sensing intracellular metabolites or metabolic fluxes. Third, the role of GABA assimilation in virulence was explored, and it was found that high internal GABA levels resulted in virulence gene repression. In addition, previously unidentified mechanisms for GABA uptake and transport were detected by the use of a novel ‘unlabelling’ experiment.</p>
spellingShingle Biochemistry
Microbiology
Plant Sciences
McCraw, S
Sarah McCraw
The metabolic context for virulence in Pseudomonas syringae
title The metabolic context for virulence in Pseudomonas syringae
title_full The metabolic context for virulence in Pseudomonas syringae
title_fullStr The metabolic context for virulence in Pseudomonas syringae
title_full_unstemmed The metabolic context for virulence in Pseudomonas syringae
title_short The metabolic context for virulence in Pseudomonas syringae
title_sort metabolic context for virulence in pseudomonas syringae
topic Biochemistry
Microbiology
Plant Sciences
work_keys_str_mv AT mccraws themetaboliccontextforvirulenceinpseudomonassyringae
AT sarahmccraw themetaboliccontextforvirulenceinpseudomonassyringae
AT mccraws metaboliccontextforvirulenceinpseudomonassyringae
AT sarahmccraw metaboliccontextforvirulenceinpseudomonassyringae