Project description:Horizontal transfer of the integrative and conjugative element ICEMlSymR7A converts non symbiotic Mesorhizobium spp. into nitrogen-fixing legume symbionts. Here we discover subpopulations of Mesorhizobium japonicum R7A become epigenetically primed for quorum-sensing (QS) and QS-activated horizontal transfer. Isolated populations in this state termed R7A* maintained these phenotypes in laboratory culture but did not transfer the R7A* state to recipients of ICEMlSymR7A following conjugation. We previously demonstrated ICEMlSymR7A transfer and QS are repressed by the antiactivator QseM in R7A populations and that the adjacently-coded DNA-binding protein QseC can represses qseM transcription. Here RNA-sequencing revealed qseM expression was repressed in R7A* cells and that RNA antisense to qseC was abundant in R7A but not R7A*. Deletion of the antisense-qseC promoter converted cells into an R7A*-like state. An adjacently-coded QseC2 protein bound two operator sites and repressed antisense-qseC transcription. Plasmid overexpression of QseC2 stimulated the R7A* state, which persisted following curing of this plasmid. The epigenetic maintenance of the R7A* state required ICEMlSymR7A-encoded copies of both qseC and qseC2. Therefore QseC and QseC2, together with their DNA-binding sites and overlapping promoters, form a stable epigenetic switch that establishes binary control over qseM transcription and primes a subpopulation of R7A cells for QS and horizontal transfer.
Project description:Legumes interact with nodulating bacteria that convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia for plant use. This nitrogen fixation takes place within root nodules that form after infection of root hairs by compatible rhizobia. Using cDNA microarrays, we monitored gene expression in soybean (Glycine max) inoculated with the nodulating bacterium Bradyrhizobium japonicum 4, 8, and 16 days after inoculation (dai), time points that coincided with nodule development and the onset of nitrogen fixation. This experiment identified several thousand genes that were differentially expressed in response to B. japonicum inoculation. Expression of 27 genes was analyzed by qRT-PCR and their expression patterns mimicked the microarray results confirming integrity of analyses. The microarray results suggest that B. japonicum reduces plant defense responses during nodule development. In addition, the data revealed a high level of regulatory complexity (transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational, post-translational) that is likely essential for development of the symbiosis and adjustment to an altered nutritional status. Keywords = symbiosis Keywords = nodulation Keywords = rhizobium Keywords = defense Keywords = ANOVA Keywords = plant loop design, 7 samples, 7 comparison, 2 technical repeats including dye swaps, 4 biological repeats
Project description:Analysis of a Bradyrhizobium japonicum pmtA mutant. PmtA catalyzes the first of three consecutive methylation reactions leading to phosphatidylcholine (PC) formation in B. japonicum. Disruption of the pmtA gene results in a significantly reduced PC content causing a defect in symbiosis with the soybean host. This study provides the first insight into global transcriptomic changes of a bacterial phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis mutant. Cells of the pmtA mutant and the wild type were grown to mid-exponential phase in full medium (PSY) under aerobic culture conditions. Keywords: genetic modification Comparative analyis of the B. japonicum pmtA mutant and the wild type grown under aerobic culture conditions.
Project description:Mesorhizobium huakuii 7653R is an α-proteobacterium that occurs either in a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with its host plant, A. sinicus, or free-living in the soil. Investigation of whole genome gene expression level changes in Bacteroids compared to the free-living cells. Understand how M. huakuii 7653R responds to alterations in its environment and to the physiological changes that occur during bacteroid differentiation.
