Browsing by Author "Dahlbeck, Douglas"

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    Computational and Biochemical Analysis of the Xanthomonas Effector AvrBs2 and Its Role in the Modulation of Xanthomonas Type Three Effector Delivery
    Zhao, Bingyu Y.; Dahlbeck, Douglas; Krasileva, Ksenia V.; Fong, Richard W.; Staskawicz, Brian J. (PLOS, 2011-12-01)
    Effectors of the bacterial type III secretion system provide invaluable molecular probes to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of plant immunity and pathogen virulence. In this report, we focus on the AvrBs2 effector protein from the bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas euvesicatoria (Xe), the causal agent of bacterial spot disease of tomato and pepper. Employing homology-based structural analysis, we generate a three-dimensional structural model for the AvrBs2 protein and identify catalytic sites in its putative glycerolphosphodiesterase domain (GDE). We demonstrate that the identified catalytic region of AvrBs2 was able to functionally replace the GDE catalytic site of the bacterial glycerophosphodiesterase BhGlpQ cloned from Borrelia hermsii and is required for AvrBs2 virulence. Mutations in the GDE catalytic domain did not disrupt the recognition of AvrBs2 by the cognate plant resistance gene Bs2. In addition, AvrBs2 activation of Bs2 suppressed subsequent delivery of other Xanthomonas type III effectors into the host plant cells. Investigation of the mechanism underlying this modulation of the type III secretion system may offer new strategies to generate broad-spectrum resistance to bacterial pathogens.
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    Phylogenomics of Xanthomonas field strains infecting pepper and tomato reveals diversity in effector repertoires and identifies determinants of host specificity
    Schwartz, Allison R.; Potnist, Neha; Milsina, Sujan; Wilson, Mark; Patane, Jose; Martins, Joaquim, Jr.; Minsavage, Gerald V.; Dahlbeck, Douglas; Akhunova, Alina; Almeida, Nalvo F.; Vallad, Gary E.; Barak, Jeri D.; White, Frank F.; Miller, Sally A.; Ritchie, David; Goss, Erica; Bart, Rebecca S.; Setubal, Joao C.; Jones, Jeffrey B.; Staskawicz, Brian J. (Frontiers, 2015-06-03)
    Bacterial spot disease of pepper and tomato is caused by four distinct Xanthomonas species and is a severely limiting factor on fruit yield in these crops. The genetic diversity and the type Ill effector repertoires of a large sampling of field strains for this disease have yet to be explored on a genomic scale, limiting our understanding of pathogen evolution in an agricultural setting. Genomes of 67 Xanthomonas euvesicatoria (Xe), Xanthomonas perforans (Xp), and Xanthomonas gardneri (Kg) strains isolated from diseased pepper and tomato fields in the southeastern and midwestern United States were sequenced in order to determine the genetic diversity in field strains. Type Ill effector repertoires were computationally predicted for each strain, and multiple methods of constructing phylogenies were employed to understand better the genetic relationship of strains in the collection. A division in the Xp population was detected based on core genome phylogeny, supporting a model whereby the host-range expansion of Xp field strains on pepper is due, in part, to a loss of the effector AvrBsT. Xp-host compatibility was further studied with the observation that a double deletion of AvrBsT and XopQ allows a host range expansion for Nicotiana benthamiana. Extensive sampling of field strains and an improved understanding of effector content will aid in efforts to design disease resistance strategies targeted against highly conserved core effectors.