title: Transcriptome analysis of Pseudomonas mediterranea and P. corrugata plant pathogens during accumulation of medium-chain-length PHAs by glycerol bioconversion.
abstract: Pseudomonas corrugata and P. mediterranea are soil inhabitant bacteria, generally living as endophytes on symptomless plants and bare soil, but also capable of causing plant diseases. They share a similar genome size and a high proteome similarity. P. corrugata produces many biomolecules which play an important role in bacterial cell survival and fitness. Both species produce different medium-chain-length PHAs (mcl-PHAs) from the bioconversion of glycerol to a transparent film in P. mediterranea and a sticky elastomer in P. corrugata. In this work, using RNA-seq we investigated the transcriptional profiles of both bacteria at the early stationary growth phase with glycerol as the carbon source. Quantitative analysis of P. mediterranea transcripts versus P. corrugata revealed that 1756 genes were differentially expressed. A total of 175 genes were significantly upregulated in P. mediterranea, while 217 were downregulated. The largest group of upregulated genes was related to transport systems and stress response, energy and central metabolism, and carbon metabolism. Expression levels of most genes coding for enzymes related to PHA biosynthesis and central metabolic pathways showed no differences or only slight variations in pyruvate metabolism. The most relevant result was the significantly increased expression in P. mediterranea of genes involved in alginate production, an important exopolysaccharide, which in other Pseudomonas spp. plays a key role as a virulence factor or in stress tolerance and shows many industrial applications. In conclusion, the results provide useful information on the co-production of mcl-PHAs and alginate from glycerol as carbon source by P. mediterranea in the design of new strategies of genetic regulation to improve the yield of bioproducts or bacterial fitness.
authors.affiliation: Parco Scientifico e Tecnologico della Sicilia s.c.p.a. Via V. Lancia 57, 95121 Catania, Italy. Electronic address: glicciardello@agrobiotech.it.
authors.forename: Grazia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Licciardello
authors.affiliation: Parco Scientifico e Tecnologico della Sicilia s.c.p.a. Via V. Lancia 57, 95121 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ferraro
authors.affiliation: Parco Scientifico e Tecnologico della Sicilia s.c.p.a. Via V. Lancia 57, 95121 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Marcella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.affiliation: Parco Tecnologico Padano, via Einstein - Loc. Cascina Codazza 26900, Lodi, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Strozzi
authors.affiliation: Parco Scientifico e Tecnologico della Sicilia s.c.p.a. Via V. Lancia 57, 95121 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonino F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Catara
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 13, 90128, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bella
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Catania, Via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania Italy.
authors.forename: Vittoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Catara
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways; D001709:Biotechnology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005990:Glycerol / Q000378:metabolism; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D054813:Polyhydroxyalkanoates / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D054813:Polyhydroxyalkanoates; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; C064841:exopolysaccharide, Pseudomonas; D005990:Glycerol