Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Washington, D.C. » National Arboretum » Floral and Nursery Plants Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #321803
Title: Functional analysis of the ferric uptake requlator gene, fur, in Xanthomonas vesicatoria

Author
item LIU, HUIQIN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item DONG, CHUNLING - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item ZHAO, TINGCHANG - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item HAN, JUCAI - Shanxi University
item WANG, TIELING - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item WEN, XIANGZHEN - Shanxi University
item YANG, GUANWEGI - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item Huang, Qi

Submitted to: PLOS ONE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/29/2016
Publication Date: 2/24/2016
Citation: Liu, H., Dong, C., Zhao, T., Han, J., Wang, T., Wen, X., Yang, G., Huang, Q. 2016. Functional analysis of the ferric uptake requlator gene, fur, in Xanthomonas vesicatoria. PLoS One. 11(2):e0149280. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149280.

Interpretive Summary: Bacterial spot caused by the bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas vesicatoria is a serious threat to tomato and pepper production. Iron is essential for the growth and survival of many organisms including this bacterial pathogen, but the function of the gene that regulates iron uptake was largely unknown before our work. We studied this gene and found that it not only negatively controls the production of siderophore, but also positively controls the production of factors contributing to the virulence of this bacterium on tomato plants. Our study will help scientists to better understand this bacterium in order to help tomato and pepper farmers to control it effectively.

Technical Abstract: Iron is essential for the growth and survival of many organisms. Intracellular iron homeostasis must be maintained for cell survival and protection against iron toxicity. The ferric uptake regulator protein (Fur) regulates the high-affinity ferric uptake system in many bacteria. To investigate the function of the fur gene in Xanthomonas vesicatoria (Xv), we generated a fur mutant strain, fur-m, by site-directed mutagenesis. While siderophore production increased in the Xv fur mutant, extracellular polysaccharide production, biofilm formation, swimming ability and quorum sensing signals all significantly decreased in the Xv fur mutant. The fur mutant also had significantly reduced virulence in tomato leaves. When the Xv fur mutation was complemented with a wild-type fur gene, the above-mentioned phenotypes recovered significantly. Thus, we conclude that Fur regulates multiple important physiological functions either negatively or positively in Xv.