September
2005
, Volume
18
, Number
9
Pages
1,002
-
1,010
Authors
Ann G.
Matthysse
,
1
Mazz
Marry
,
2
Leonard
Krall
,
1
Mitchell
Kaye
,
1
Bronwyn E.
Ramey
,
3
Clay
Fuqua
,
3
and
Alan R.
White
2
Affiliations
1University of North Carolina, Department of Biology, Chapel Hill 27599-3280, U.S.A.; 2North Dakota State University, Department of Biological Sciences, Fargo 58105-5517, U.S.A.; 3Indiana University, Department of Biology, Bloomington 47405, U.S.A.
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RelatedArticle
Accepted 10 May 2005.
Abstract
Agrobacterium tumefaciens growing in liquid attaches to the surface of tomato and Arabidopsis thaliana roots, forming a biofilm. The bacteria also colonize roots grown in sterile quartz sand. Attachment, root colonization, and biofilm formation all were markedly reduced in celA and chvB mutants, deficient in production of cellulose and cyclic β-(1,2)-D-glucans, respectively. We have identified two genes (celG and celI) in which mutations result in the overproduction of cellulose as judged by chemical fractionation and methylation analysis. Wild-type and chvB mutant strains carrying a cDNA clone of a cellulose synthase gene from the marine urochordate Ciona savignyi also overproduced cellulose. The overproduction in a wild-type strain resulted in increased biofilm formation on roots, as evaluated by light microscopy, and levels of root colonization intermediate between those of cellulose-minus mutants and the wild type. Overproduction of cellulose by a nonattaching chvB mutant restored biofilm formation and bacterial attachment in microscopic and viable cell count assays and partially restored root colonization. Although attachment to plant surfaces was restored, overproduction of cellulose did not restore virulence in the chvB mutant strain, suggesting that simple bacterial binding to plant surfaces is not sufficient for pathogenesis.
JnArticleKeywords
Additional keywords:
exopolysaccharide.
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© 2005 The American Phytopathological Society