title: A glutathione peroxidase (GpoA) plays a role in the pathogenicity of Nautella italica strain R11 towards the red alga Delisea pulchra.
abstract: Oxidative bursts are a common mechanism used by higher organisms to defend themselves against bacterial attacks, but some pathogenic bacteria have evolved resistance mechanisms to counteract this. The role of oxidative stress resistance as a virulence trait in macroalgal disease is however unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the gene gpoA, encoding for a glutathione peroxidase, is important for the oxidative stress response of the macroalgal pathogen Nautella italica R11. We also show that a lack of gpoA prevents N. italica R11 from inducing a bleaching disease in the red alga Delisea pulchra. These results show that a defense against oxidative stress is likely to be an important feature enabling pathogenic bacteria to infect macroalgae.
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences and Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation, University of New South Wales, High Street, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gardiner
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences and Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation, University of New South Wales, High Street, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: CMB, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia s.egan@unsw.edu.au.
authors.forename: Suhelen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Egan
mesh_terms: D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000235:genetics*; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D041902:Rhodobacteraceae / Q000201:enzymology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D000461:Rhodophyta / Q000382:microbiology*; D012624:Seaweed / Q000382:microbiology; D013481:Superoxides / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D013481:Superoxides; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase
keywords: GPx; Roseobacter clade; bacterial–host interactions; macroalgae; marine bacteria; oxidative stress resistance; seaweeds