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Journal of Bacteriology, August 2001, p. 4687-4693, Vol. 183, No. 16
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.16.4687-4693.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Xenorhabdus nematophilus as a Model for Host-Bacterium Interactions: rpoS Is Necessary for Mutualism with Nematodes

Eugenio I. Vivas and Heidi Goodrich-Blair*

Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin---Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706

Received 9 March 2001/Accepted 14 May 2001

Xenorhabdus nematophilus, a gram-negative bacterium, is a mutualist of Steinernema carpocapsae nematodes and a pathogen of larval-stage insects. We use this organism as a model of host-microbe interactions to identify the functions bacteria require for mutualism, pathogenesis, or both. In many gram-negative bacteria, the transcription factor sigma S controls regulons that can mediate stress resistance, survival, or host interactions. Therefore, we examined the role of sigma S in the ability of X. nematophilus to interact with its hosts. We cloned, sequenced, and disrupted the X. nematophilus rpoS gene that encodes sigma S. The X. nematophilus rpoS mutant pathogenized insects as well as its wild-type parent. However, the rpoS mutant could not mutualistically colonize nematode intestines. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a specific allele that affects the ability of X. nematophilus to exist within nematode intestines, an important step in understanding the molecular mechanisms of this association.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin---Madison, 1550 Linden Dr., Madison, WI 53706. Phone: (608) 265-4537. Fax: (608) 262-9865. E-mail: hgblair{at}bact.wisc.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, August 2001, p. 4687-4693, Vol. 183, No. 16
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.16.4687-4693.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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