Fitness costs restrict niche expansion by generalist niche-constructing pathogens.

ABSTRACT: We investigated the molecular and ecological mechanisms involved in niche expansion, or generalism, versus specialization in sympatric plant pathogens. Nopaline-type and octopine-type Agrobacterium tumefaciens engineer distinct niches in their plant hosts that provide different nutrients: nopaline or octopine, respectively. Previous studies revealed that nopaline-type pathogens may expand their niche to also assimilate octopine in the presence of nopaline, but consequences of this phenomenon on pathogen dynamics in planta were not known. Here, we provided molecular insight into how the transport protein NocT can bind octopine as well as nopaline, contributing to niche expansion. We further showed that despite the ability for niche expansion, nopaline-type pathogens had no competitive advan

SUBMITTER: Lang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5270578 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature