Ancient co-option of an amino acid ABC transporter locus in Pseudomonas syringae for host signal-dependent virulence gene regulation.

ABSTRACT: Pathogenic bacteria frequently acquire virulence traits via horizontal gene transfer, yet additional evolutionary innovations may be necessary to integrate newly acquired genes into existing regulatory pathways. The plant bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae relies on a horizontally acquired type III secretion system (T3SS) to cause disease. T3SS-encoding genes are induced by plant-derived metabolites, yet how this regulation occurs, and how it evolved, is poorly understood. Here we report that the two-component system AauS-AauR and substrate-binding protein AatJ, proteins encoded by an acidic amino acid-transport (aat) and -utilization (aau) locus in P. syringae, directly regulate T3SS-encoding genes in response to host aspartate and glutamate signals. Mutants of P. syringae strain DC3

SUBMITTER: Yan Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7386598 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature