Open AccessSystemic virulence of Erwinia chrysanthemi 3937 requires a functional iron assimilation system
Author(s) -
Corine Enard,
Annick Diolez,
Dominique Expert
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.652
H-Index - 246
eISSN - 1067-8832
pISSN - 0021-9193
DOI - 10.1128/jb.170.6.2419-2426.1988
Subject(s) - biology , siderophore , virulence , auxotrophy , mutant , erwinia , microbiology and biotechnology , plasmid , bacteria , gene , biochemistry , genetics
In Erwinia chrysanthemi, conditions of iron starvation initiate production of a catechol-type siderophore and enhance production of three outer membrane polypeptides. Twenty-two mutants affected in the different stages of this iron assimilation system were isolated by mini-Mu insertion mutagenesis. All of them failed to induce systemic soft rot on axenically grown Saintpaulia plants. From the siderophore auxotrophs and the iron uptake mutants, clones having recovered the missing function(s) were isolated by using the in vivo cloning vector pULB113 (RP4::mini-Mu). An R-prime plasmid containing a ca. 35.5-kilobase-pair DNA insert was identified. Restoration of the iron functions restored partially, if not completely, the virulence of the parental strain.