Hcp2, a secreted protein of the phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000, is required for fitness for competition against bacteria and yeasts.

ABSTRACT: When analyzing the secretome of the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000, we identified hemolysin-coregulated protein (Hcp) as one of the secreted proteins. Hcp is assumed to be an extracellular component of the type VI secretion system (T6SS). Two copies of hcp genes are present in the P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000 genome, hcp1 (PSPTO_2539) and hcp2 (PSPTO_5435). We studied the expression patterns of the hcp genes and tested the fitness of hcp knockout mutants in host plant colonization and in intermicrobial competition. We found that the hcp2 gene is expressed most actively at the stationary growth phase and that the Hcp2 protein is secreted via the T6SS and appears in the culture medium as covalently linked dimers. Expression of hcp2 is not induced in planta and does no

SUBMITTER: Haapalainen M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3430304 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature