1887

Abstract

Although much is known about the signals that trigger transcription of virulence genes in plant pathogens, their prevalence and timing during infection are still unknown. In this work, we address these questions by analysing expression of the main pathogenicity determinants in the bacterial pathogen We set up a quantitative, non-invasive luminescent reporter to monitor transcription from single promoters in the bacterial chromosome. We show that the new reporter provides a real-time measure of promoter output – either after re-isolation of pathogens from infected plants or directly and confirm that the promoter controlling exopolysaccharide (EPS) synthesis is active in bacteria growing in the xylem. We also provide evidence that , the master regulator of type III secretion system (T3SS) genes, is transcribed in symptomatic plants. Quantitative RT-PCR assays demonstrate that and type III effector transcripts are abundant at late stages of plant infection, suggesting that their function is required throughout disease. Our results challenge the widespread view in pathogenicity that the T3SS, and thus injection of effector proteins, is only active to manipulate plant defences at the first stages of infection, and that its expression is turned down when bacteria reach high cell densities and EPS synthesis starts.

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2012-08-01
2024-03-28
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