title: Development of an Adhesion Assay and Characterization of an Adhesion-Deficient Mutant of Pseudomonas fluorescens.
abstract: A sand column adhesion assay was developed which distinguishes the adhesion abilities of a number of pseudomonads isolated from fine sandy loam. Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf0-1 which adhered at >90% of the total cells added was subjected to transposon Tn5 insertion mutagenesis. From 2,500 Pf0-1::Tn5 mutants examined in the sand column assay, two adhesion-deficient Pf0-1 mutants showing <50% attachment were isolated. Marker exchange analysis of one of these mutants, Pf0-5, confirmed that the decreased adhesion was linked to the Tn5 insertion in the chromosome. The growth rate of Pf0-5 in enriched media and sterile soil was similar to that of the wild type; in minimal medium, however, Pf0-5 grew faster. In a soil column assay, less Pf0-5 than wild-type bacteria were recovered, suggesting a decreased ability to persist in soil. A 34-kilodalton major outer membrane protein present in the wild type was missing in Pf0-5. Transmission electron microscopy of the cell surface revealed that the wild-type possessed polar flagella which were absent in the mutant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Deflaun
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Tanzer
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: McAteer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Levy