Virulence regulation

Phenotypic heterogeneity in bacterial pathogens: molecular mechanisms and their role in plant adaptation

Participants:

Carmen Beuzón López (PI), Javier Ruiz Albert (PI), Jose S. Rufián, Fernando Baisón, Juan Manuel Ocaña Gálvez

Collaborators:

Mª Antonia Sánchez Romero (US), Fernando Govantes Romero (UPO); Adam Schikora (Julius Kühn-Institut)

About the line

In this research line, we analyse the mechanisms underlying phenotypic heterogeneity in the phytopathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae, and its role in bacterial adaptation to the plant environment. We were the first to describe in phytopathogenic bacteria the phenotypic heterogeneity of the T3SS and the flagellum, which gives rise to spatially structured, complex expression patterns in planta, with phenotypically distinct subpopulations cooperating to colonize the plant tissue and disseminate. The formation of bacterial phenotypic lineages differing in these key aspects of P. syringae virulence extends to the heterogeneous expression of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) synthesis genes. Phenotypic heterogeneity is integrated into the bacterial regulatory network through an epigenetic mechanism, which likely involves DNA methylation. We also investigate how the heterogeneity processes described in the human pathogen Salmonella enterica allow these bacteria to colonize plants, leading to epidemic outbreaks associated with the consumption of fruits and vegetables.

Recent publications