LdtR is a master regulator of gene expression in Liberibacter asiaticus. Issue 4 (15th May 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pagliai, Fernando A.; Coyle, Janelle F.; Kapoor, Sharan; Gonzalez, Claudio F.; Lorca, Graciela L.
• Other Names: Morgenroth Eberhard guestEditor.; Flemming Hans‐Curt guestEditor.; Azeredo Joana guestEditor.; Melo Luis F. guestEditor.; Espinosa Manuel guestEditor.; Whiteley Marvin guestEditor.; Briandet Romain guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: Microbial biotechnology. Volume 10:Issue 4(2017:Jul.)
• Page Start: 896
• Page End: 909
• Publication Date: 2017-05-15
• Subjects: Microbial biotechnology -- Periodicals; Biotechnology; Microbiology; 660.62
• DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.12728
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1751-7915

Abstract

Summary: Huanglongbing or citrus greening disease is causing devastation to the citrus industry. Liberibacter asiaticus, an obligate intracellular pathogen of citrus, is one the causative agents of the disease. Most of the knowledge about this bacterium has been deduced from the in silico exploration of its genomic sequence. L. asiaticus differentially expresses genes during its transmission from the psyllid vector, Diaphorina citri, to the plant. However, the regulatory mechanisms for the adaptation of the bacterium into either hosts remain unknown. Here we show that LdtR, a MarR family transcriptional regulator, activates or represses transcription genome‐wide. We performed a double approach to identify the components of the LdtR regulon: a transcriptome analysis in both the related bacterium Liberibacter crescens and citrus‐infected leaves, strengthened with an in silico prediction of LdtR regulatory sites. Our results demonstrated that LdtR controls the expression of nearly 180 genes in L. asiaticus, distributed in processes such as cell motility, cell wall biogenesis, energy production, and transcription. These results provide new evidence about the regulatory network of L. asiaticus, where the differential expression of genes from these functional categories could be of great importance during the adaptation of the bacterium to either hosts. Abstract : Our results demonstrated that LdtR controls the expression of nearly 180 genes in L. asiaticus which provide new evidence about the regulatory network of this citrus pathogen. The differential expression of genes from the functional categories identified herein could be of great importance during the adaptation of the bacterium to either hosts.