Project description:Many bacteria can transition from a planktonic lifestyle to life attached to a surface. Changes in gene expression have been documented in bacteria in mature biofilms, but few studies have looked at gene expression during the initial stages of surface attachment. To investigate this, we performed RNA-Seq using the model organism Pseudomonas syringae B728a which has been found in rivers and lakes but is known for living on the leaf surface. We compared gene expression of wild-type P. syringae B728a cells attached to a filter for 2 hours to the gene expression of wild-type P. syringae B728a cells in King's medium B broth. We found that certain gene catergories were quickly induced when cells were on a surface such as flagellar synthesis and motility while other gene categories were quickly repressed such as phytotoxin synthesis and transport. These fast changes in gene expression suggest that P. syringae B728a uses surface attachment as a potential cue to better adapt to life on a surface.
Project description:Transgenic expression of a double-stranded RNA in plants can induce silencing of homologous mRNAs in fungal pathogens. Although such host-induced gene silencing is well documented, the molecular mechanisms by which RNAs can move from the cytoplasm of plant cells across the plasma membrane of both the host cell and fungal cell are poorly understood. Indirect evidence suggests that this RNA transfer may occur at a very early stage of the infection process, prior to breach of the host cell wall, suggesting that silencing RNAs might be secreted onto leaf surfaces. To assess whether Arabidopsis plants possess a mechanism for secreting RNA onto leaf surfaces, we developed a protocol for isolating leaf surface RNA separately from intercellular (apoplastic) RNA. This protocol yielded abundant leaf surface RNA that displayed an RNA banding pattern distinct from apoplastic RNA, suggesting that it may be secreted directly onto the leaf surface rather than exuded through stomata or hydathodes. Notably, this RNA was not associated with either extracellular vesicles or protein complexes; however, RNA species longer than 100 nucleotides could be pelleted by ultracentrifugation. Furthermore, pelleting was inhibited by the divalent cation chelator EGTA, suggesting that these RNAs may form condensates on the leaf surface. These leaf surface RNAs are derived almost exclusively from Arabidopsis, but come from diverse genomic sources, including rRNA, tRNA, mRNA, intergenic RNA, microRNAs, and small interfering RNAs, with tRNAs especially enriched. We speculate that endogenous leaf surface RNA plays an important role in the assembly of distinct microbial communities on leaf surfaces.
Project description:Leaves are colonised by a complex mix of microbes, termed the leaf microbiota. Even though the leaf microbiota is increasingly recognised as an integral part of plant life and health, our understanding of its interactions with the plant host is still limited. Here, mature, axenically grown Arabidopsis thaliana plants were spray-inoculated with diverse leaf-colonising bacteria. Whole transcriptome sequencing revealed that four days after inoculation, leaf transcriptional changes to colonisation by non-pathogenic and pathogenic bacteria differed in strength but not in the type of response.
Project description:To successfully colonize healthy plants, bacterial pathogens must overcome stressful conditions on the leaf surface before entering the leaf tissues through natural openings. In this study, we developed an approach to examine the exometabolomic profiles of the leaf surface when exposing plants with the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000) and the human pathogen Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium 14028s (STm 14028s). Our data indicate clear differences in metabolic dynamics in the phyllosphere as Pst DC3000 and STm 14028s colonize this niche, where STm 14028s induced the largest changes in the metabolite accumulation. Specifically, we detected a reduction of several monosaccharides and organic acids that STm 14028s may consume as sources of energy. Furthermore, STm 14028s alters several amino acids and nucleic acids that promote growth and survival by providing essential substrates and serving as signaling molecules under stressful conditions. In addition, we identified differential accumulation of amino acids and other metabolites, such as phytohormones, which could potentially contribute to plant defense against biotic stresses. Overall, we gained valuable insights into the metabolites secreted onto the leaf surface, which might facilitate bacterial transitioning to an endophytic lifestyle and the unique response of Arabidopsis towards these bacteria.
Project description:Some strains of the foliar pathogen Pseudomonas syringae are adapted for growth and survival on leaf surfaces and in the leaf interior. Global transcriptome profiling was used to evaluate if these two habitats offer distinct environments for bacteria and thus present distinct driving forces for adaptation. Further transcriptome profiling was performed to understand the various environmental conditions that P. syringae cells encounter during their association with plants. RNA was collected from P. syringae pv. syringae strain B728a cells that were exposed to seven treatments. The treatments included five in vitro treatments, namely exposing cells to a basal medium, sodium chloride to confer an osmotic stress, hydrogen peroxide to confer an apoplastic growth, iron limitation, nitrogen limitation. They also included two in planta treatments, namely recovering cells from epiphytic sites after surface inoculation and 72 h of growth on bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) leaves and recovering cells from apoplastic sites after infiltration and 48 h of growth in bean leaves. The results suggested that B728a cells experience vastly different environments when growing on the surface versus the interior of leaves and identified distinct traits that are likely used for persistence and growth in these environments.
Project description:Leaves are colonised by a complex mix of microbes, termed the leaf microbiota. Even though the leaf microbiota is increasingly recognised as an integral part of plant life and health, our understanding of its interactions with the plant host is still limited. Here, mature, axenically grown Arabidopsis thaliana plants were spray-inoculated with diverse leaf-colonising bacteria. Whole transcriptome sequencing revealed that four days after inoculation, leaf transcriptional changes to colonisation by non-pathogenic and pathogenic bacteria differed in strength but not in the type of response. Inoculation of plants with different densities of the non-pathogenic bacterium Williamsia sp. Leaf354 showed that high bacterial titers caused disease phenotypes and led to severe transcriptional reprogramming with a strong focus on plant defence. This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Project description:Mutations in the CINCINNATA gene in Antirrhinum and its orthologues in Arabidopsis cause negative surface curvature in leaves due to excess marginal growth. CIN-like genes code for TCP transcription factors and are expressed in a broad zone of a growing leaf somewhat distal to the proliferation zone. Although a few TCP targets are known, the role of CIN-like TCP genes in regulating leaf curvature has remained unclear. We have compared the global transcription profile of wild type and cincinnata mutant to identify its targets. By combining DNA-protein interaction, chromatin immunoprecipitation and RNA in situ hybridization, we show that CIN maintains surface flatness by regulating signaling or level of major plant hormones. CIN promotes cytokinin signaling directly and GA level indirectly, in accelerating maturity in leaf cells along the tip-to-base direction. In addition, CIN suppresses auxin signaling more at the margin than centre by establishing a margin-to-medial expression gradient of a homologue of the auxin suppressor IAA3. Our results uncover an underlying mechanism in a developing leaf that controls maturity of leaf and its surface curvature. Considering the conservation of CIN-like genes and their function in leaf morphogenesis in multiple plant species, it is likely that such mechanism is evolutionarily conserved.
2013-05-01 | GSE40621 | GEO
Project description:microbial of Plant leaf surface and root surface