A type II protein secretory pathway required for levansucrase secretion by Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus.
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The endophytic diazotroph Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus secretes a constitutively expressed levansucrase (LsdA, EC 2.4.1.10) to utilize plant sucrose. LsdA, unlike other extracellular levansucrases from gram-negative bacteria, is transported to the periplasm by a signal-peptide-dependent pathway. We identified an unusually organized gene cluster encoding at least the components LsdG, -O, -E, -F, -H, -I, -J, -L, -M, -N, and -D of a type II secretory system required for LsdA translocation across the outer membrane. Another open reading frame, designated lsdX, is located between the operon promoter and lsdG, but it was not identified in BLASTX searches of the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases. The lsdX, -G, and -O genes were isolated from a cosmid library of strain SRT4 by complementation of an ethyl methanesulfonate mutant unable to transport LsdA across the outer membrane. The downstream genes lsdE, -F, -H, -I, -J, -L, -M, -N, and -D were isolated through chromosomal walking. The high G+C content (64 to 74%) and the codon usage of the genes identified are consistent with the G+C content and codon usage of the standard G. diazotrophicus structural gene. Sequence analysis of the gene cluster indicated that a polycistronic transcript is synthesized. Targeted disruption of lsdG, lsdO, or lsdF blocked LsdA secretion, and the bacterium failed to grow on sucrose. Replacement of Cys(162) by Gly at the C terminus of the pseudopilin LsdG abolished the protein functionality, suggesting that there is a relationship with type IV pilins. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis revealed conservation of the type II secretion operon downstream of the levansucrase-levanase (lsdA-lsdB) locus in 14 G. diazotrophicus strains representing 11 genotypes recovered from four different host plants in diverse geographical regions. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a type II pathway for protein secretion in the Acetobacteraceae. (+info)
Indole-3-acetic acid biosynthesis is deficient in Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus strains with mutations in cytochrome c biogenesis genes.
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Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus is an endophyte of sugarcane frequently found in plants grown in agricultural areas where nitrogen fertilizer input is low. Recent results from this laboratory, using mutant strains of G. diazotrophicus unable to fix nitrogen, suggested that there are two beneficial effects of G. diazotrophicus on sugarcane growth: one dependent and one not dependent on nitrogen fixation. A plant growth-promoting substance, such as indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), known to be produced by G. diazotrophicus, could be a nitrogen fixation-independent factor. One strain, MAd10, isolated by screening a library of Tn5 mutants, released only approximately 6% of the amount of IAA excreted by the parent strain in liquid culture. The mutation causing the IAA(-) phenotype was not linked to Tn5. A pLAFR3 cosmid clone that complemented the IAA deficiency was isolated. Sequence analysis of a complementing subclone indicated the presence of genes involved in cytochrome c biogenesis (ccm, for cytochrome c maturation). The G. diazotrophicus ccm operon was sequenced; the individual ccm gene products were 37 to 52% identical to ccm gene products of Escherichia coli and equivalent cyc genes of Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Although several ccm mutant phenotypes have been described in the literature, there are no reports of ccm gene products being involved in IAA production. Spectral analysis, heme-associated peroxidase activities, and respiratory activities of the cell membranes revealed that the ccm genes of G. diazotrophicus are involved in cytochrome c biogenesis. (+info)
Occurrence of Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus in tropical and subtropical plants of Western Ghats, India.
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Endophytic bacteria were isolated from the tissues of surface sterilized roots, stems, and leaves of fifty different crop plants. Phenotypic, biochemical tests and species-specific PCR assay permitted identification of four isolates of Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus from root tissues of carrot (Daucus carota L.), raddish (Raphanus sativus L.), beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) and coffee (Coffea arabica L.). Further the plant growth promoting traits such as nitrogenase activity, production of phytohormone indole acetic acid (IAA), phosphorus and zinc solubilization were assessed. Significant nitrogenase activity was recorded among the isolates and all the isolates produced IAA in the presence of tryptophan. Though all the four isolates efficiently solubilized phosphorus, the zinc solubilizing ability differed among the isolates. (+info)
Crystal structure of levansucrase from the Gram-negative bacterium Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus.
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The endophytic Gram-negative bacterium Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus SRT4 secretes a constitutively expressed levansucrase (LsdA, EC 2.4.1.10), which converts sucrose into fructooligosaccharides and levan. The enzyme is included in GH (glycoside hydrolase) family 68 of the sequence-based classification of glycosidases. The three-dimensional structure of LsdA has been determined by X-ray crystallography at a resolution of 2.5 A (1 A=0.1 nm). The structure was solved by molecular replacement using the homologous Bacillus subtilis (Bs) levansucrase (Protein Data Bank accession code 1OYG) as a search model. LsdA displays a five-bladed beta-propeller architecture, where the catalytic residues that are responsible for sucrose hydrolysis are perfectly superimposable with the equivalent residues of the Bs homologue. The comparison of both structures, the mutagenesis data and the analysis of GH68 family multiple sequences alignment show a strong conservation of the sucrose hydrolytic machinery among levansucrases and also a structural equivalence of the Bs levansucrase Ca2+-binding site to the LsdA Cys339-Cys395 disulphide bridge, suggesting similar fold-stabilizing roles. Despite the strong conservation of the sucrose-recognition site observed in LsdA, Bs levansucrase and GH32 family Thermotoga maritima invertase, structural differences appear around residues involved in the transfructosylation reaction. (+info)
Nitrogenase proteins from Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus, a sugarcane-colonizing bacterium.
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Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus Pal-5 grew well and expressed nitrogenase activity in the absence of NH4+ and at initial O2 concentrations greater than 5% in the culture atmosphere. G. diazotrophicus nitrogenase consisted of two components, Gd1 and Gd2, which were difficult to separate but were purified individually to homogeneity. Their compositions were very similar to those of Azotobacter vinelandii nitrogenase, however, all subunits were slightly smaller in size. The purified Gd1 protein contained a 12:1 Fe/Mo ratio as compared to 14:1 found for Av1 purified in parallel. Both Gd2 and Av2 contained 3.9 Fe atoms per molecule. Dithionite-reduced Gd1 exhibited EPR features at g=3.69, 3.96, and 4.16 compared with 3.64 and 4.27 for Av1. Gd2 gave an S=1/2 EPR signal identical to that of Av2. A Gd1 maximum specific activity of 1600 nmol H2 (min mg of protein)(-1) was obtained when complemented with either Gd2 or Av2, however, more Av2 was required. Gd2 had specific activities of 600 and 1100 nmol H2 (min mg protein)(-1) when complemented with Av1 and Gd1, respectively. The purified G. diazotrophicus nitrogenase exhibited a narrowed pH range for effective catalysis compared to the A. vinelandii nitrogenase, however, both exhibited maximum specific activity at about pH 7. The Gd-nitrogenase was more sensitive to ionic strength than the Av-nitrogenase. (+info)
Antagonism of Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus (a sugarcane endosymbiont) against Xanthomonas albilineans (pathogen) studied in alginate-immobilized sugarcane stalk tissues.
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Xanthomonas albilineans, a pathogenic bacterium that produces leaf scald disease of sugarcane, secretes a xanthan-like gum that invades both xylem and phloem of the host. Xanthan production has been verified after experimental infection of stalk segments of healthy plants. Moreover, Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus is a nitrogen-fixing endosymbiont of sugarcane plants that antagonizes with X. albilineans by impeding the production of the bacterial gum. The physiological basis of this antagonism has been studied using tissues of sugarcane stalks previously inoculated with the endosymbiont, then immobilized in calcium alginate and maintained in a culture medium for Gluconacetobacter. Under these conditions, bacteria infecting immobilized tissues are able to secrete to the medium a lysozyme-like bacteriocin that inhibits the growth of X. albilineans. (+info)
Description of Gluconacetobacter swingsii sp. nov. and Gluconacetobacter rhaeticus sp. nov., isolated from Italian apple fruit.
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Two Gram-negative, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacteria (DST GL01T and DST GL02T) were isolated from apple fruit juice in the region of the Italian Alps. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, strains DST GL01T and DST GL02T were shown to belong to the alpha-subclass of the Proteobacteria, and, in particular, to the genus Gluconacetobacter, in the Gluconacetobacter xylinus branch (98.5-100 %). Chemotaxonomic data (major ubiquinone, Q10; predominant fatty acid, C(18 : 1omega7c), accounting for approximately 50 % of the fatty acid content) support the affiliation of both strains to the genus Gluconacetobacter. The results of DNA-DNA hybridizations, together with physiological and biochemical data, allowed genotypic and phenotypic differentiation between strains DST GL01T and DST GL02T and from the 11 validly published Gluconacetobacter species. They therefore represent two new species, for which the names Gluconacetobacter swingsii sp. nov. and Gluconacetobacter rhaeticus sp. nov. are proposed, with the type strains DST GL01T (=LMG 22125T=DSM 16373T) and DST GL02T (=LMG 22126T=DSM 16663T), respectively. (+info)
N-fertilizer saving by the inoculation of Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus and Herbaspirillum sp. in micropropagated sugarcane plants.
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Colonization of micropropagated sugarcane plants by Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus and Herbaspirillum sp. was confirmed by a dot-immunoblot assay. In all, a 45-day short-term and 180-day long-term experiments conducted on micropropagated sugarcane plants of Co 86032, a sugar rich popular variety in South India, indicated the usefulness of these diazotrophs as plant growth promoting bacteria. Co-inoculation of these two bacteria enhanced the biomass considerably under N-limited condition in the short duration experiment. In the long-term experiment, the establishment of inoculated Herbaspirillum sp. remained stable with the age of the crop up to 180 days, while there was a reduction in population of G. diazotrophicus for the same period. The total bio-mass and leaf N were higher in plants inoculated with G. diazotrophicus and Herbaspirillum sp. without N fertilization and also in plants with 50% of the recommended N (140 kg ha(-1)) than the plants fertilized with recommended dose of inorganic N (280 kg ha(-1)). This experiment showed that inoculation with these bacteria in sugarcane variety Co 86032 could mitigate fertilizer N application considerably in sugarcane cultivation. (+info)