title: CorA, the magnesium/nickel/cobalt transporter, affects virulence and extracellular enzyme production in the soft rot pathogen Pectobacterium carotovorum.
abstract: Pectobacterium carotovorum (formerly Erwinia carotovora ssp. carotovora) is a phytopathogenic bacterium that causes soft rot disease, characterized by water-soaked soft decay, resulting from the action of cell wall-degrading exoenzymes secreted by the pathogen. Virulence in soft rot bacteria is regulated by environmental factors, host and bacterial chemical signals, and a network of global and gene-specific bacterial regulators. We isolated a mini-Tn5 mutant of P. carotovorum that is reduced in the production of extracellular pectate lyase, protease, polygalacturonase and cellulase. The mutant is also decreased in virulence as it macerates less host tissues than its parent and is severely impaired in multiplication in planta. The inactivated gene responsible for the reduced virulent phenotype was identified as corA. CorA, a magnesium/nickel/cobalt membrane transporter, is the primary magnesium transporter for many bacteria. Compared with the parent, the CorA(-)  mutant is cobalt resistant. The mutant phenotype was confirmed in parental strain P. carotovorum by marker exchange inactivation of corA. A functional corA(+)  DNA from P. carotovorum restored exoenzyme production and pathogenicity to the mutants. The P. carotovorum corA(+)  clone also restored motility and cobalt sensitivity to a CorA(-)  mutant of Salmonella enterica. These data indicate that CorA is required for exoenzyme production and virulence in P. carotovorum.
authors: Department of Agricultural Sciences, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN 37209, USA.
authors: Caleb M
authors: CM
authors: Kersey
authors: Paul A
authors: PA
authors: Agyemang
authors: C Korsi
authors: CK
authors: Dumenyo
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000077102:Apium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003035:Cobalt / Q000633:toxicity; D018552:Daucus carota / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology; D004798:Enzymes / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005110:Extracellular Space / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D005111:Extrachromosomal Inheritance / Q000235:genetics; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D050505:Mutant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D016973:Pectobacterium carotovorum / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D011133:Polysaccharide-Lyases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014774:Virulence / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004798:Enzymes; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D050505:Mutant Proteins; D003035:Cobalt; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases; D011133:Polysaccharide-Lyases; C023911:pectate lyase