title: Genetic Modulation of c-di-GMP Turnover Affects Multiple Virulence Traits and Bacterial Virulence in Rice Pathogen Dickeya zeae.
abstract: The frequent outbreaks of rice foot rot disease caused by Dickeya zeae have become a significant concern in rice planting regions and countries, but the regulatory mechanisms that govern the virulence of this important pathogen remain vague. Given that the second messenger cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) is associated with modulation of various virulence-related traits in various microorganisms, here we set to investigate the role of the genes encoding c-di-GMP metabolism in the regulation of the bacterial physiology and virulence by construction all in-frame deletion mutants targeting the annotated c-di-GMP turnover genes in D. zeae strain EC1. Phenotype analyses identified individual mutants showing altered production of exoenzymes and phytotoxins, biofilm formation and bacterial motilities. The results provide useful clues and a valuable toolkit for further characterization and dissection of the regulatory complex that modulates the pathogenesis and persistence of this important bacterial pathogen.
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.|Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yufan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.|Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Mingfa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.|Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lisheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.|Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yanfang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.|Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhibin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.|Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zurong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.|Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shiyin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.|Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jianuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.|Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.|State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, Guangzhou, 510642, China.
authors.forename: Lianhui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D018441:Biofilms; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005407:Flagella / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D018942:Macrolides / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D012275:Oryza / Q000382:microbiology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D011073:Polyamines / Q000378:metabolism; D054730:Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D018942:Macrolides; D011073:Polyamines; D037521:Virulence Factors; C547236:zeamine; C062025:bis(3',5')-cyclic diguanylic acid; D006152:Cyclic GMP