title: Ralstonia solanacearum needs Flp pili for virulence on potato.
abstract: Type IV pili are virulence factors in various bacteria. Several subclasses of type IV pili have been described according to the characteristics of the structural prepilin subunit. Although type IVa pili have been implicated in the virulence of Ralstonia solanacearum, type IVb pili have not previously been described in this plant pathogen. Here, we report the characterization of two distinct tad loci in the R. solanacearum genome. The tad genes encode functions necessary for biogenesis of the Flp subfamily of type IVb pili initially described for the periodontal pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. To determine the role of the tad loci in R. solanacearum virulence, we mutated the tadA2 gene located in the megaplasmid that encodes a predicted NTPase previously reported to function as the energizer for Flp pilus biogenesis. Characterization of the tadA2 mutant revealed that it was not growth impaired in vitro or in planta, produced wild-type levels of exopolysaccharide galactosamine, and exhibited swimming and twitching motility comparable with the wild-type strain. However, the tadA2 mutant was impaired in its ability to cause wilting of potato plants. This is the first report where type IVb pili in a phytopathogenic bacterium contribute significantly to plant pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
authors.forename: Charles K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Wairuri
authors.forename: Jacquie E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: van der Waals
authors.forename: Antoinette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van Schalkwyk
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Theron
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D019295:Computational Biology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D043368:Ralstonia solanacearum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D011198:Solanum tuberosum; D013997:Time Factors; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins