Location: Crop Diseases, Pests and Genetics Research
Title: Xylella fastidiosa DNA methylation promotes biofilm formationAuthor
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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 4/29/2024 Publication Date: 7/29/2024 Citation: Burbank, L.P. 2024. Xylella fastidiosa DNA methylation promotes biofilm formation. Meeting Abstract. Presented at the Plant Health 2024 meeting, July 27-30,2024 in Memphis, Tennessee. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Xylella fastidiosa causes disease in a wide range of perennial crops plants. A key aspect of X. fastidiosa pathogenesis and transmission is the ability to form biofilms within plant vascular tissue, and in the mouthparts of insect vectors. Bacterial biofilm phenotypes are growth-stage dependent and controlled by complex regulatory mechanisms. In X. fastidiosa, cell-density dependent gene expression changes are important for formation of biofilms, and many of the structural components involved have been well characterized, such as outer membrane proteins and pili. This study investigates DNA methylation as an added layer to the regulation of biofilm development in X. fastidiosa, using a known type II restriction-modification system (NspV-Mtase). Overexpression of the methylase component of this system (Xf Mtase) in E. coli produced a noticeable biofilm phenotype and aggregation in culture similar to the in vitro growth habit of X. fastidiosa. Xf Mtase overexpression in E. coli led to differential expression of genes involved in stress response and biofilm development, providing new targets for study in X. fastidiosa. Identification of pathways influenced by DNA methylation through the NspV Mtase is important to understand this aspect of X. fastidiosa biofilm formation, and to determine whether DNA methylation activity may be targeted for disease mitigation or transmission disruption. |
