Identification of a novel ABC transporter required for desiccation tolerance, and biofilm formation in Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae 3841.

ABSTRACT: Rhizobium leguminosarum is a soil bacterium with the ability to form nitrogen-fixing nodules on the roots of leguminous plants. Soil-dwelling, free-living R. leguminosarum often encounters desiccation stress, which impacts its survival within the soil. The mechanisms by which soil bacteria resist the effects of desiccation stress have been described. However, the role of the cell envelope in the desiccation tolerance mechanisms of rhizobia is relatively uncharacterized. Using a transposon mutagenesis approach, a mutant of R. leguminosarum bv. viciae was isolated that was highly sensitive to desiccation. The mutation is located in the ATP-binding protein of an uncharacterized ATP-binding cassette transporter operon (RL2975-RL2977). Exopolysaccharide accumulation was significantly lower in t

SUBMITTER: Vanderlinde EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2868943 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature