RESUMEN
Frankia alni strain ACN14a's genome was scanned for the presence of determinants involved in interactions with its host plant, Alnus spp. One such determinant type is lectin, proteins that bind specifically to sugar motifs. The genome of F. alni was found to contain 7 such lectin-coding genes, five of which were of the ricinB-type. The proteins coded by these genes contain either only the lectin domain, or also a heat shock protein or a serine-threonine kinase domain upstream. These lectins were found to have several homologs in Streptomyces spp., and a few in other bacterial genomes among which none in Frankia EAN1pec and CcI3 and two in strain EUN1f. One of these F. alni genes, FRAAL0616, was cloned in E. coli, fused with a reporter gene yielding a fusion protein that was found to bind to both root hairs and to bacterial hyphae. This protein was also found to modify the dynamics of nodule formation in A. glutinosa, resulting in a higher number of nodules per root. Its role could thus be to permit binding of microbial cells to root hairs and help symbiosis to occur under conditions of low Frankia cell counts such as in pioneer situations.
Asunto(s)
Frankia/genética , Genes Bacterianos , Lectinas/genética , Alnus/microbiología , Clonación Molecular , Escherichia coli/genética , Genoma Bacteriano , Filogenia , Nódulos de las Raíces de las Plantas/microbiología , Streptomyces/genética , Simbiosis/genéticaRESUMEN
Soil bacteria that also form mutualistic symbioses in plants encounter two major levels of selection. One occurs during adaptation to and survival in soil, and the other occurs in concert with host plant speciation and adaptation. Actinobacteria from the genus Frankia are facultative symbionts that form N(2)-fixing root nodules on diverse and globally distributed angiosperms in the "actinorhizal" symbioses. Three closely related clades of Frankia sp. strains are recognized; members of each clade infect a subset of plants from among eight angiosperm families. We sequenced the genomes from three strains; their sizes varied from 5.43 Mbp for a narrow host range strain (Frankia sp. strain HFPCcI3) to 7.50 Mbp for a medium host range strain (Frankia alni strain ACN14a) to 9.04 Mbp for a broad host range strain (Frankia sp. strain EAN1pec.) This size divergence is the largest yet reported for such closely related soil bacteria (97.8%-98.9% identity of 16S rRNA genes). The extent of gene deletion, duplication, and acquisition is in concert with the biogeographic history of the symbioses and host plant speciation. Host plant isolation favored genome contraction, whereas host plant diversification favored genome expansion. The results support the idea that major genome expansions as well as reductions can occur in facultative symbiotic soil bacteria as they respond to new environments in the context of their symbioses.
Asunto(s)
Frankia/genética , Genoma Bacteriano , Magnoliopsida/microbiología , Simbiosis , Elementos Transponibles de ADN , ADN Bacteriano , Evolución Molecular , Eliminación de Gen , Duplicación de Gen , Geografía , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Fijación del Nitrógeno , Filogenia , Raíces de Plantas/microbiología , Profagos , Análisis de Secuencia de ADNRESUMEN
The Frankia sp. strain ACN14a superoxide dismutase SodF was previously shown to be induced in response to Alnus glutinosa root exudates, and its gene was sequenced. We report here the sequence of the 9-kb genomic segment surrounding the sodF gene and further characterize this gene and its product. Nine ORFs coding for various proteins, such as regulators, acetyl-CoA transferases, and a bacterioferritin A next to the sodF gene, were found. Northern blot analysis showed that the sodF gene was expressed as a major 1-kb transcript, which indicates that it has its own promoter. The sodF gene strongly complemented an Escherichia coli triple mutant (sodA sodB recA), restoring aerobic growth when the gene was expressed from the synthetic tac promoter but when expressed from its own promoter showed only slight rescue, suggesting that it was poorly recognized by the E. coli RNA polymerase. It is noteworthy that this is the first time that a Frankia gene has been reported to complement an E. coli mutant. The superoxide dismutase activity of the protein was inactivated by hydrogen peroxide, indicating that the metal ligand is iron, which is supported by analysis of the protein sequence. Thus, the SodF protein induced in Frankia by root exudates is an iron-containing enzyme similar to the one present in the nodules.
Asunto(s)
Escherichia coli/genética , Frankia/genética , Genes Bacterianos , Superóxido Dismutasa/genética , Composición de Base , Northern Blotting , ADN Bacteriano/química , ADN Bacteriano/genética , Escherichia coli/enzimología , Escherichia coli/crecimiento & desarrollo , Frankia/enzimología , Prueba de Complementación Genética , Peróxido de Hidrógeno/farmacología , Hierro/análisis , Ligandos , Mutación , Plásmidos , Regiones Promotoras Genéticas , ARN Bacteriano/genética , ARN Mensajero/genética , Análisis de Secuencia de ADN , Superóxido Dismutasa/química , Superóxido Dismutasa/metabolismo , Transformación BacterianaRESUMEN
The fate of transplastomic (chloroplast genome contains the transgene) tobacco plant DNA in planta was studied when the plant leaves were subjected to decay conditions simulating those encountered naturally, including grinding, incubation with cellulase or enzymes produced by Erwinia chrysanthemi, and attack by the plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum. Direct visualization of DNA on agarose gels, gene extraction yield (the number of amplifiable aadA sequences in extracted plant DNA), and the frequency that recipient bacteria can be transformed by plant DNA were used to evaluate the quality and quantity of plant DNA and the transgene. These measurements were used to monitor the physical and biological degradation of DNA inside decaying plant tissues. Our results indicate that while most of the DNA will be degraded inside plant cells, sufficient DNA persists to be released into the soil.
