Abstract

Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. glycinea (Psg, also named P. syringae pv. glycinea and P. amygdali pv. glycinea) is the causative agent of bacterial blight in soybean. The identification of virulence factors is essential for understanding the pathogenesis of Psg. In this study, a mini-Tn5 transposon mutant library of Psg strain PsgNC12 was screened on soybean, and one low-virulent mini-Tn5 mutant, designated as 4573, was identified. Sequence analysis of the 4573-mutant revealed that the mini-Tn5 transposon was inserted in the Psg_2795 gene. Psg_2795 encodes a FimC-domain protein that is highly conserved in Pseudomonas. Further analysis revealed that the mutation and knockout of Psg_2795 results in a reduced virulence phenotype on soybean, decreased motility, weakened bacterial attachment to a glass surface and delayed the population growth within soybean leaves. The phenotype of the 4573-mutant could be complemented nearly to wild-type levels using an intact Psg_2795 gene. Collectively, our results demonstrate that Psg_2795 plays an important role in the virulence, motility, attachment and the population growth of PsgNC12 in soybean. This finding provides a new insight into the function of periplasmic chaperone proteins in a type I pilus and provides reference information for identifying Psg_2795 homologues in P. savastanoi and other bacteria.

• Keywords: soybean, bacterial blight, Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. glycinea, periplasmic chaperone, pathogenicity