Swiss needle cast (SNC) is a disease specific to Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) caused by the ascomycete Phaeocryptopus gaeumannii. Here we examine characteristics of the EM fungus community that are potentially useful in predictive models that would monitor forest health. We found that mean EM density (number of colonized root tips/soil...
Tannins are a diverse group of plant-produced, polyphenolic compounds with metal-chelating and antimicrobial properties that are prevalent in many soils. Using transcriptomics, we determined that tannic acid, a form of hydrolysable tannin, broadly affects the expression of genes involved in iron and zinc homeostases, sulfur metabolism, biofilm formation, motility, and...
Transcriptome analysis of Pseudomonas fluorescensSBW25 showed that 702 genes were differentially regulated in a gacS::Tn5 mutant, with 300 and 402 genes up- and downregulated respectively. Similar to the Gac regulon of other Pseudomonas species, genes involved in motility, biofilm formation, siderophore biosynthesis and oxidative stress were differentially regulated in the...
Zinc is an important nutrient but can be lacking in some soil environments, influencing the physiology of soil-dwelling bacteria. Hence, we studied the global effect of zinc limitation on the transcriptome of the rhizosphere biocontrol strain Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5 (formerly Pseudomonas fluorescens). We observed that the expression of the putative...
One of the most important micronutrients for bacterial growth is iron, whose bioavailability in soil is limited. Consequently, rhizospheric bacteria such as Pseudomonas fluorescens employ a range of mechanisms to acquire or compete for iron. We investigated the transcriptomic and proteomic effects of iron limitation on P. fluorescens Pf-5 by...
The soil bacterium Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5 can colonize root and seed surfaces of many plants, protecting them from infection by plant pathogenic fungi and oomycetes. The capacity to suppress disease is attributed to Pf-5's production of a large spectrum of antibiotics, which is controlled by complex regulatory circuits operating at...
Pseudomonas protegens strain Pf-5 is a rhizosphere bacterium that suppresses soilborne plant diseases and produces at least seven different secondary metabolites with antifungal properties. We derived mutants of Pf-5 with single and multiple mutations in biosynthesis genes for seven antifungal metabolites: 2,4-diacetylphoroglucinol (DAPG), pyrrolnitrin, pyoluteorin, hydrogen cyanide, rhizoxin, orfamide A,...
Conjugative plasmids are known to facilitate the acquisition and dispersal of genes contributing to the fitness of Pseudomonas spp. Here, we report the characterization of pA506, the 57-kb conjugative plasmid of Pseudomonas fluorescens A506, a plant epiphyte used in the United States for the biological control of fire blight disease...
The soil bacterium Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5 (previously called P. fluorescens Pf-5) produces two siderophores, enantio-pyochelin and a compound in the large and diverse pyoverdine family. Using high-resolution mass spectroscopy, we determined the structure of the pyoverdine produced by Pf-5. In addition to producing its own siderophores, Pf-5 also utilizes ferric...