title: The Tat pathway of plant pathogen Dickeya dadantii 3937 contributes to virulence and fitness.
abstract: Protein secretion plays a very important role in the virulence of the bacterium Dickeya dadantii, the causative agent of soft rot disease, in a wide range of plant species. We studied the contribution of the twin-arginine translocation (Tat) protein system to the adaptation of D. dadantii 3937 to different growth conditions and to the interaction with the plant host. First, a list of 44 putative Tat substrates was obtained using bioinformatic programs taking advantage of the availability of the complete sequence of this bacterium. Second, a tatC mutant strain was constructed and analysed. The mutant displayed a pleiotropic phenotype, showing limited growth in an iron-depleted medium, higher sensitivity to copper, reduced motility on soft agar plates and attenuated virulence in witloof chicory leaves. Our results indicate the Tat system as an important determinant of the virulence and fitness of D. dadantii 3937. Potential Tat substrates related to the tatC mutant phenotype are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biotecnología, E.T.S.I. Agrónomos, Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Campus de Montegancedo, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Sanz
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Antúnez-Lamas
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: López-Solanilla
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Palacios
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Palenzuela
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rey
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D018651:Cichorium intybus / Q000382:microbiology*; D003300:Copper / Q000633:toxicity; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D008124:Locomotion; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D021381:Protein Transport; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors; D003300:Copper; D007501:Iron