Project description:Paraburkholderia phymatum belongs to the β-subclass of proteobacteria. It has recently been shown to be able to nodulate and fix nitrogen in symbiosis with several mimosoid and papillionoid legumes. In contrast to symbiosis of legumes with α-proteobacteria, very little is known about the molecular determinants underlying the successful establishment of this mutualistic relationship with β-proteobacteria. In this study, we analyzed RNA-seq data of free-living P. phymatum growing under nitrogen replete and limited conditions, the latter partially mimicking the situation in nitrogen deprived soils. Among the genes up-regulated under nitrogen limitation, we found genes involved in exopolysaccharide production and motility, two traits relevant for plant root infection. Next, RNA-seq data of P. phymatum grown under free-living conditions and from symbiotic root nodules of Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean) were generated and compared. Among the genes highly up-regulated during symbiosis, we identified an operon encoding a potential cytochrome o ubiquinol oxidase (Bphy_3646-49). Bean root nodules induced by a cyoB mutant strain showed reduced nitrogenase and nitrogen fixation abilities suggesting an important role of the cytochrome for respiration inside the nodule. Analysis of mutant strains for RNA polymerase transcription factor rpoN (σ54) and its activator NifA indicated that – similar to the situation in α-rhizobia – P. phymatum RpoN and NifA are key regulators during symbiosis with P. vulgaris.
Project description:Paraburkholderia phymatum is a beta-proteobacterium, which lives in the soil and is able to enter nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with different legumes. The biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) process is of great ecological and agronomic importance. We previously showed that the expression of the key P. phymatum BNF enzyme – the nitrogenase –is regulated by the sigma factor σ54 (or RpoN) inside root nodules. This study focused on identifying the σ54 regulon of P. phymatum grown in nitrogen limited conditions using RNA-Sequencing. Among the genes significantly down-regulated in absence of σ54 we found those coding for a C4-dicarboxylate transport system (Bphy_0225-27), a flagellar biosynthesis cluster (Bphy_2926-64) and one of the two type 6 secretion system (T6SS-b) present in P. phymatum genome (Bphy_5978-97). Indeed, the σ54 mutant was unable to grow on C4 dicarboxylates (fumarate, malate and succinate) as the sole carbon source and was less motile compared to the wild-type strain. Both defects were complemented by adding rpoN in trans. Additionally, using reporter fusions we confirmed that T6SS-b expression is regulated by σ54. Finally, a σ54 mutant was less competitive than its parental strain against P. diazotrophica, suggesting a role of σ54 in controlling interbacterial competition.
Project description:Paraburkholderia phymatum belongs to the ?-subclass of proteobacteria. It has recently been shown to be able to nodulate and fix nitrogen in symbiosis with several mimosoid and papilionoid legumes. In contrast to the symbiosis of legumes with ?-proteobacteria, very little is known about the molecular determinants underlying the successful establishment of this mutualistic relationship with ?-proteobacteria. In this study, we performed an RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis of free-living P. phymatum growing under nitrogen-replete and -limited conditions, the latter partially mimicking the situation in nitrogen-deprived soils. Among the genes upregulated under nitrogen limitation, we found genes involved in exopolysaccharides production and in motility, two traits relevant for plant root infection. Next, RNA-seq data of P. phymatum grown under free-living conditions and from symbiotic root nodules of Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean) were generated and compared. Among the genes highly upregulated during symbiosis, we identified-besides the nif gene cluster-an operon encoding a potential cytochrome o ubiquinol oxidase (Bphy_3646-49). Bean root nodules induced by a cyoB mutant strain showed reduced nitrogenase and nitrogen fixation abilities, suggesting an important role of the cytochrome for respiration inside the nodule. The analysis of mutant strains for the RNA polymerase transcription factor RpoN (?54) and its activator NifA indicated that-similar to the situation in ?-rhizobia-P. phymatum RpoN and NifA are key regulators during symbiosis with P. vulgaris.
Project description:RpoN (σ54) is the key sigma factor for the regulation of transcription of nitrogen fixation genes in diazotrophic bacteria, which include alpha- and beta-rhizobia. Our previous studies showed that a rpoN mutant of the beta-rhizobial strain Paraburkholderia phymatum formed root nodules on Phaseolus vulgaris that were unable to reduce atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia. In an effort to further characterize the RpoN regulon of P. phymatum, transcriptomics was combined with a powerful metabolomics approach. The metabolome of P. vulgaris root nodules infected by the P. phymatum rpoN Fix- mutant revealed statistically significant metabolic changes compared to wild-type Fix+ nodules, including reduced amounts of chorismate and elevated levels of flavonoids. A transcriptome analysis on Fix+ and Fix- nodules – combined with a search for RpoN binding sequences in promoter regions of regulated genes – confirmed the expected control of σ54 on nitrogen fixation genes in nodules. The transcriptomic data also identified additional target genes, whose differential expression was able to explain the observed metabolite changes in a numerous cases. Moreover, the genes encoding the two-component regulatory system NtrBC were downregulated in root nodules induced by the rpoN mutant and contained a putative RpoN binding motif in their promoter region, suggesting direct regulation. The construction and characterization of an ntrB mutant strain revealed impaired nitrogen assimilation in free-living conditions, as well as a noticeable symbiotic phenotype by forming less but heavier nodules on P. vulgaris roots.
Project description:Paraburkholderia phymatum is a highly effective microsymbiont of Mimosa spp. and has also been shown to nodulate papilionoid legumes. P. phymatum was found to be highly competitive both in a natural environment as well as under controlled test conditions and is more competitive for nodulation over other ?- and ?-rhizobial strains in a variety of different plant hosts. In order to elucidate the factors that make this bacterium highly competitive for legume infection, we here characterized the type VI secretion system (T6SS) clusters of P. phymatum. T6SSs have been shown to function as a contact-dependent injection system for both bacterial and eukaryotic cells. We identified two T6SS clusters in the genome, created respective mutant strains and showed that they are defective in biofilm formation and in interbacterial competition in vitro. While the T6SS mutants were as efficient as the wild-type in nodulating the non-cognate host Vigna unguiculata, the mutants were less competitive in in planta competition assays, suggesting that the T6SS is one of the factors responsible for the success of P. phymatum in infecting legumes by directly inhibiting competitors.
Project description:Paraburkholderia phymatum is a rhizobial strain that belongs to the beta-proteobacteria, a group known to form efficient nitrogen-fixing symbioses within root nodules of several legumes, including the agriculturally important common bean. The establishment of the symbiosis requires the exchange of rhizobial and plant signals such as lipochitooligosaccharides (Nod factors), polysaccharides, and flavonoids. Inspection of the genome of the competitive rhizobium P. phymatum revealed the presence of several polysaccharide biosynthetic gene clusters. In this study, we demonstrate that bceN, a gene encoding a GDP-D-mannose 4,6-dehydratase, which is involved in the production of the exopolysaccharide cepacian, an important component of biofilms produced by closely related opportunistic pathogens of the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc), is required for efficient plant colonization. Wild-type P. phymatum was shown to produce cepacian while a bceN mutant did not. Additionally, the bceN mutant produced a significantly lower amount of biofilm and formed less root nodules compared to the wild-type strain with Phaseolus vulgaris as host plant. Finally, expression of the operon containing bceN was induced by the presence of germinated P. vulgaris seeds under nitrogen limiting conditions suggesting a role of this polysaccharide in the establishment of this ecologically important symbiosis.
Project description:RpoN (or σ54) is the key sigma factor for the regulation of transcription of nitrogen fixation genes in diazotrophic bacteria, which include α- and β-rhizobia. Our previous studies showed that an rpoN mutant of the β-rhizobial strain Paraburkholderia phymatum STM815T formed root nodules on Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Negro jamapa, which were unable to reduce atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia. In an effort to further characterize the RpoN regulon of P. phymatum, transcriptomics was combined with a powerful metabolomics approach. The metabolome of P. vulgaris root nodules infected by a P. phymatumrpoN Fix- mutant revealed statistically significant metabolic changes compared to wild-type Fix⁺ nodules, including reduced amounts of chorismate and elevated levels of flavonoids. A transcriptome analysis on Fix- and Fix⁺ nodules-combined with a search for RpoN binding sequences in promoter regions of regulated genes-confirmed the expected control of σ54 on nitrogen fixation genes in nodules. The transcriptomic data also allowed us to identify additional target genes, whose differential expression was able to explain the observed metabolite changes in numerous cases. Moreover, the genes encoding the two-component regulatory system NtrBC were downregulated in root nodules induced by the rpoN mutant, and contained a putative RpoN binding motif in their promoter region, suggesting direct regulation. The construction and characterization of an ntrB mutant strain revealed impaired nitrogen assimilation in free-living conditions, as well as a noticeable symbiotic phenotype, as fewer but heavier nodules were formed on P. vulgaris roots.
Project description:Nitrogen fixing symbiosis between rhizobia and legumes contributes significant amounts of N to agricultural and natural environments. In natural soils, rhizobia compete with indigenous bacterial communities to colonize legume roots, which leads to symbiotic interactions. However, limited information is currently available on the effects of the rhizobial symbiont on the resident microbial community in the legume rhizosphere, rhizoplane, and endosphere, which is partly due to the presence of native nodulating rhizobial strains. In the present study, we used a symbiotic system comprised of Paraburkholderia phymatum and Mimosa pudica to examine the interaction of an inoculant strain with indigenous soil bacteria. The effects of a symbiont inoculation on the native bacterial community was investigated using high throughput sequencing and an analysis of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. The results obtained revealed that the inoculation induced significant alterations in the microbial community present in the rhizoplane+endosphere of the roots, with 13 different taxa showing significant changes in abundance. No significant changes were observed in the rhizospheric soil. The relative abundance of P. phymatum significantly increased in the rhizoplane+endosphere of the root, but significant decreased in the rhizospheric soil. While the rhizosphere, rhizoplane, and root endosphere contained a wide diversity of bacteria, the nodules were predominantly colonized by P. phymatum. A network analysis revealed that the operational taxonomic units of Streptomyces and Phycicoccus were positively associated with P. phymatum as potential keystone taxa. Collectively, these results suggest that the success of an inoculated symbiont depends on its ability to colonize the roots in the face of competition by other soil bacteria. A more detailed understanding of the mechanisms by which an inoculated strain colonizes its plant host is crucial for realizing the full potential of microbial inoculants in sustainable agriculture.
Project description:Paraburkholderia phymatum STM815 is a nitrogen-fixing endosymbiont that nodulate the agriculturally important Phaseolus vulgaris and several other host plants. We previously showed that the nodules induced by a STM815 mutant of the gene encoding the master regulator of nitrogen fixation NifA showed no nitrogenase activity (Fix-) and increased in number compared to P. vulgaris plants infected with the wild-type strain. To further investigate the role of NifA during symbiosis, nodules from P. phymatum wild-type and nifA mutants were collected and analyzed by metabolomics and dual RNA-Sequencing, allowing us to investigate both host and symbiont transcriptome. Using this approach, several metabolites' changes could be assigned to bacterial or plant responses. While the amount of the C4-dicarboxylic acid succinate and of several amino acids was lower in Fix- nodules, the level of indole-acetamide (IAM) and brassinosteroids increased. Transcriptome analysis identified P. phymatum genes involved in transport of C4-dicarboxylic acids, carbon metabolism, auxin metabolism and stress response to be differentially expressed in absence of NifA. Furthermore, P. vulgaris genes involved in autoregulation of nodulation (AON) are repressed in nodules in absence of NifA potentially explaining the hypernodulation phenotype of the nifA mutant. These results and additional validation experiments suggest that P. phymatum STM815 NifA is not only important to control expression of nitrogenase and related enzymes but is also involved in regulating its own auxin production and stress response. Finally, our data indicate that P. vulgaris does sanction the nifA nodules by depleting the local carbon allocation rather than by mounting a strong systemic immune response to the Fix- rhizobia.