Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (1998) 11, 1078-1084

E.A. Pierson, D.W. Wood, J.A. Cannon, F.M. Blachere and L.S. Pierson (1998)
Interpopulation signaling via N-acyl-homoserine lactones among bacteria in the wheat rhizosphere
Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 11 (11), 1078-1084
Abstract: The biological control bacterium Pseudomonas aureofaciens 30-84 utilizes an N-acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) signal molecule to control phenazine antibiotic production in the wheat rhizosphere (D. W. Wood and L. S. Pierson III, Gene 168:49-53, 1996). In this study, we demonstrate that naturally co-existing, non-isogenic bacterial populations interact with strain 30-84 at the level of gene expression via the exchange of diffusible signals on wheat roots. Wheat plants from three geographic locations were used to generate a random library of 700 rhizobacterial isolates. Roughly 8% of the isolates from each location restored phenazine gene expression to an AHL-deficient strain of 30-84 in vitro. Five of these isolates were further tested for their ability to influence gene expression of an AHL-deficient reporter of strain 30-84 on wheat roots. All five, isolated from different geographic locations, restored phenazine gene expression by the reporter to wild-type levels. This suggests that in vitro assays can identify bacterial isolates with the potential to influence phenazine expression in strain 30-84 via AHLs on wheat roots. The occurrence of such strains in all fields sampled suggests that AHL-mediated communication is a common occurrence in the wheat rhizosphere.
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Link to article at publishers website

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
molecular biology - genes

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
Pseudomonas chlororaphis (antagonist)