Abstract
The virulence of Pseudomonas syringae subsp. savastanoi, which causes hyperplastic symptoms (knots) on olive plants, is dependent upon produced phytohormones (indole-3-acetic acid and cytokinins) Recent studies showed that a Tn5-induced mutant of the above-mentioned bacterium did not cause any disease symptom on olive plants although it was still able to produce phytohormones; in addition, this mutant also failed to elicit a hypersensitive response in a non host plant. Molecular characterisation revealed that DNA flanking Tn5 insertion in the mutant encoded a protein highly similar to the HrcC protein of P. s. pv. syringae. Since the hrcC gene of P. s. pv. syringae is known to be part of an operon within the hrp/hrc gene cluster, in order to define the genetic organisation of the region and to identify other hrp genes in P. s. subsp. savastanoi, further sequence analysis of DNA regions flanking Tn5 insertion in the mutant was carried out. The results revealed that the gene encoding the HrcC protein in P. s. subsp. savastanoi was part of an operon including five genes with the same arrangement as in other phytopathogenic bacteria. On the basis of their homologies to previously characterised genes of other P. syringae pathovars, these genes were named hrpF, hrpG, hrcC, hrpT and hrpV. Upstream of this operon an homolog of the hrpE gene was also found in P. s. subsp. savastanoi. The similarity between some of the above-mentioned genes of P. s. subsp. savastanoi and the corresponding genes of P. s. pv. glycinea or of P. s. pv. phaseolicola was particularly high. These results, together with the identification and characterisation of the hrcC mutant of P. s. subsp. savastanoi, suggest that at least some hrp/hrc genes play a key role in the pathogenicity of this plant pathogen which induces hyperplastic symptoms on its host plants.
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Sisto, A., Cipriani, M.G., Morea, M. (2003). Sequence Analysis of the hrpC Operon and the hrpE Gene of Pseudomonas syringae subsp. savastanoi . In: Iacobellis, N.S., et al. Pseudomonas syringae and related pathogens. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0133-4_44
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0133-4_44
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