title: Agrobacterium flagellar switch gene fliG is liquid inducible and important for virulence.
abstract: Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 was mutagenized with a mini-Tn5 transposon containing a promoterless gene encoding the green fluorescent protein (GFP). A mutant, CGS74, exhibited a higher GFP expression level in liquid media than on solid media. The ability of the mutant to cause tumors on plants was attenuated. Sequence analysis showed that the transposon was inserted at the fliG gene, which encodes a flagellar motor switch protein required for flagellar movement. Studies of the fliG-gfp fusion gene indicated that the promoter activity of the fliG gene was higher in liquid than in solid media. Electron microscopy studies demonstrated that the mutant was nonflagellate. This suggests that the A. tumefaciens motility is important for virulence and that bacterial flagellar synthesis occurs at a higher level in a liquid environment than in a solid environment, perhaps resulting in a higher motility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore.
authors.forename: Luoping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yong H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Shen Q
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D016960:Agrobacterium tumefaciens / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003470:Culture Media; D017931:DNA Primers; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D005407:Flagella / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005812:Genes, Switch; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D009154:Mutation; D010941:Plant Tumors / Q000382:microbiology; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003470:Culture Media; D017931:DNA Primers; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; C075660:Flig protein, Bacteria; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins