Spontaneous mutations in a regulatory gene induce phenotypic heterogeneity and adaptation of Ralstonia solanacearum to changing environments - Peuplements végétaux et bioagresseurs en milieu tropical Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Environmental Microbiology Année : 2019

Spontaneous mutations in a regulatory gene induce phenotypic heterogeneity and adaptation of Ralstonia solanacearum to changing environments

Résumé

An evolution experiment with the bacterial plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum revealed that several adap-tive mutations conferring enhanced fitness in plants arose in the efpR gene encoding a regulator of virulence and metabolic functions. In this study, we found that an efpR mutant systematically displays colonies with two morphotypes: the type S ('smooth', similar to the wild type) and the type EV ('efpR variant'). We demonstrated that the efpH gene, a homologue of efpR, plays a key role in the control of phenotypic heterogeneity, the ΔefpR-ΔefpH double mutant being stably locked into the EV type. Using mixed infection assays, we demonstrated that the type EV is metabolically more proficient than the type S and displays fitness gain in specific environments, whereas the type S has a better fitness into the plant environment. We provide evidence that this efpR-dependent phenotypic heterogeneity is a general feature of strains of the R. solanacearum species complex and could occur in natural conditions. This study highlights the potential role of phenotypic hetero-geneity in this plant pathogen as an adaptive trait to changing environments.
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Dates et versions

hal-02936851 , version 1 (11-09-2020)

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Paternité - Pas d'utilisation commerciale - Pas de modification

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Anthony Perrier, Xavier Barlet, David Rengel, Philippe Prior, Stéphane Poussier, et al.. Spontaneous mutations in a regulatory gene induce phenotypic heterogeneity and adaptation of Ralstonia solanacearum to changing environments. Environmental Microbiology, 2019, 21 (8), pp.3140-3152. ⟨10.1111/1462-2920.14717⟩. ⟨hal-02936851⟩
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