title: The bacterial pigment xanthomonadin offers protection against photodamage.
abstract: Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae is a bacterial pathogen that causes leaf blight, a serious disease of rice. Most members of the genus Xanthomonas produce yellow, membrane bound, brominated aryl polyene pigments called xanthomonadins whose functional role is unclear. We find that pigment-deficient mutants of X. oryzae pv. oryzae exhibit hypersensitivity to photobiological damage. A clone containing the xanthomonadin biosynthetic gene cluster alleviates the hypersensitivity of the pigment-deficient mutant. Extracts containing xanthomonadin provide protection against photodynamic lipid peroxidation in liposomes. These results lead us to suggest a role for the pigment, namely protection against photodamage.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rajagopal
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Sundari
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Balasubramanian
authors.forename: R V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Sonti
mesh_terms: D000840:Anisoles / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004952:Esters / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D005020:Ethyl Methanesulfonate / Q000494:pharmacology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D007700:Kinetics; D008027:Light / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D008081:Liposomes / Q000378:metabolism; D016296:Mutagenesis; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D014974:Xanthomonas / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects*
chemical_list: D000840:Anisoles; D004952:Esters; D008081:Liposomes; D010860:Pigments, Biological; C108932:xanthomonadin I; D005020:Ethyl Methanesulfonate