Journal
JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY
Volume 198, Issue 2, Pages 248-255Publisher
AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY
DOI: 10.1128/JB.00569-15
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Funding
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) [HHMI 55007436]
- Science and Technology Foundation, Ministry of Education and Science (Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia) [SFRH/BD/33570/2008, PTDC/BIA-BCM/101585/2008]
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia [SFRH/BD/33570/2008, PTDC/BIA-BCM/101585/2008] Funding Source: FCT
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Pectobacterium wasabiae (previously known as Erwinia carotovora) is an important plant pathogen that regulates the production of plant cell wall-degrading enzymes through an N-acyl homoserine lactone-based quorum sensing system and through the GacS/GacA two-component system (also known as ExpS/ExpA). At high cell density, activation of GacS/GacA induces the expression of RsmB, a noncoding RNA that is essential for the activation of virulence in this bacterium. A genetic screen to identify regulators of RsmB revealed that mutants defective in components of a putative Trk potassium transporter (trkH and trkA) had decreased rsmB expression. Further analysis of these mutants showed that changes in potassium concentration influenced rsmB expression and consequent tissue damage in potato tubers and that this regulation required an intact Trk system. Regulation of rsmB expression by potassium via the Trk system occurred even in the absence of the GacS/GacA system, demonstrating that these systems act independently and are both required for full activation of RsmB and for the downstream induction of virulence in potato infection assays. Overall, our results identified potassium as an essential environmental factor regulating the Rsm system, and the consequent induction of virulence, in the plant pathogen P. wasabiae.
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