title: Structural levansucrase gene (lsdA) constitutes a functional locus conserved in the species Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus.
abstract: Levansucrase (EC 2.4.1.10) was identified as a constitutive exoenzyme in 14 Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus strains recovered from different host plants in diverse geographical regions. The enzyme, consisting of a single 60-kDa polypeptide, hydrolysed sucrose to synthesise oligofructans and levan. Sugar-cane-associated strains of the most abundant genotype (electrophoretic type 1) showed maximal values of levansucrase production. These values were three-fold higher than those of the isolates recovered from coffee plants. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis revealed a high degree of conservation of the levansucrase locus (IsdA) among the 14 strains under study, which represented 11 different G. diazotrophicus genotypes. Targeted disruption of the lsdA gene in four representative strains abolished their ability to grow on sucrose, indicating that the endophytic species G. diazotrophicus utilises plant sucrose via levansucrase.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología, División de Plantas, Laboratorio de Interacciones Planta-Microorganismos, Habana, Cuba. lazaro.hernandez@cigb.edu.cu
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hernández
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sotolongo
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rosabal
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Menéndez
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramírez
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caballero-Mellado
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arrieta
mesh_terms: D016947:Acetobacteraceae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015870:Gene Expression; D018390:Gene Targeting; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006602:Hexosyltransferases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009586:Nitrogen Fixation; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013395:Sucrose / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D013395:Sucrose; D006602:Hexosyltransferases; C021513:levansucrase