title: An ent-kaurene-derived diterpenoid virulence factor from Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola.
abstract: Both plants and fungi produce ent-kaurene as a precursor to the gibberellin plant hormones. A number of rhizobia contain functionally conserved, sequentially acting ent-copalyl diphosphate and ent-kaurene synthases (CPS and KS, respectively), which are found within a well-conserved operon that may lead to the production of gibberellins. Intriguingly, the rice bacterial leaf streak pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola (Xoc) contains a homologous operon. Here, we report biochemical characterization of the encoded CPS and KS, and the impact of insertional mutagenesis on virulence and the plant defense response for these genes, as well as that for one of the cytochromes P450 (CYP112) found in the operon. Activity of the CPS and KS found in this phytopathogen was verified - that is, Xoc is capable of producing ent-kaurene. Moreover, knocking out CPS, KS or CYP112 led to mutant Xoc that exhibited reduced virulence. Investigation of the effect on marker gene transcript levels suggests that the Xoc diterpenoid affects the plant defense response, most directly that mediated by jasmonic acid (JA). Xoc produces an ent-kaurene-derived diterpenoid as a virulence factor, potentially a gibberellin phytohormone, which is antagonistic to JA, consistent with the recent recognition of opposing effects for these phytohormones on the microbial defense response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Hershey
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Adam J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Bogdanove
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Reuben J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Peters
mesh_terms: D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D045786:Diterpenes, Kaurane / Q000378:metabolism; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005875:Gibberellins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012275:Oryza / Q000382:microbiology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D057865:Plant Immunity; D037521:Virulence Factors; D014974:Xanthomonas / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D045786:Diterpenes, Kaurane; D005875:Gibberellins; D037521:Virulence Factors; C002627:kaurene; D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; C105712:ent-kaurene synthetase B
keywords: gibberellins; phytohormones; phytopathogens; plant defense; plant-microbe interactions