Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (2014) 27, 1132-1147

German Dunger, Cristiane R. Guzzo, Maxuel O. Andrade, Jeffrey B. Jones and Chuck S. Farah (2014)
Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri type IV pilus is required for twitching motility, biofilm development, and adherence
Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 27 (10), 1132-1147
Abstract: Bacterial type IV pili (T4P) are long, flexible surface filaments that consist of helical polymers of mostly pilin subunits. Cycles of polymerization, attachment, and depolymerization mediate several pilus-dependent bacterial behaviors, including twitching motility, surface adhesion, pathogenicity, natural transformation, escape from immune system defense mechanisms, and biofilm formation. The Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri strain 306 genome codes for a large set of genes involved in T4P biogenesis and regulation and includes several pilin homologs. We show that X. citri subsp. citri can exhibit twitching motility in a manner similar to that observed in other bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Xylella fastidiosa and that this motility is abolished in Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri knockout strains in the genes coding for the major pilin subunit PilA_XAC3241, the ATPases PilB_XAC3239 and PilT_XAC2924, and the T4P biogenesis regulators PilZ_XAC1133 and FimX_XAC2398. Microscopy analyses were performed to compare patterns of bacterial migration in the wild-type and knockout strains and we observed that the formation of mushroom-like structures in X. citri subsp. citri biofilm requires a functional T4P. Finally, infection of X. citri subsp. citri cells by the bacteriophage (ΦXacm4-11 is T4P dependent. The results of this study improve our understanding of how T4P influence Xanthomonas motility, biofilm formation, and susceptibility to phage infection.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Chuck S. Farah, Jeffrey B. Jones

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
molecular biology - genes

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Xanthomonas citri