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Journal of Bacteriology, September 2002, p. 5121-5129, Vol. 184, No. 18
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.18.5121-5129.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Role for Phosphoglucomutase in Vibrio fischeri-Euprymna scolopes Symbiosis

Cindy R. DeLoney, Therese M. Bartley, and Karen L. Visick*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, Illinois 60153

Received 3 June 2002/ Accepted 19 June 2002

Vibrio fischeri, a luminescent marine bacterium, specifically colonizes the light organ of its symbiotic partner, the Hawaiian squid Euprymna scolopes. In a screen for V. fischeri colonization mutants, we identified a strain that exhibited on average a 10-fold decrease in colonization levels relative to that achieved by wild-type V. fischeri. Further characterization revealed that this defect did not result from reduced luminescence or motility, two processes required for normal colonization. We determined that the transposon in this mutant disrupted a gene with high sequence identity to the pgm (phosphoglucomutase) gene of Escherichia coli, which encodes an enzyme that functions in both galactose metabolism and the synthesis of UDP-glucose. The V. fischeri mutant grew poorly with galactose as a sole carbon source and was defective for phosphoglucomutase activity, suggesting functional identity between E. coli Pgm and the product of the V. fischeri gene, which was therefore designated pgm. In addition, lipopolysaccharide profiles of the mutant were distinct from that of the parent strain and the mutant exhibited increased sensitivity to various cationic agents and detergents. Chromosomal complementation with the wild-type pgm allele restored the colonization ability to the mutant and also complemented the other noted defects. Unlike the pgm mutant, a galactose-utilization mutant (galK) of V. fischeri colonized juvenile squid to wild-type levels, indicating that the symbiotic defect of the pgm mutant is not due to an inability to catabolize galactose. Thus, pgm represents a new gene required for promoting colonization of E. scolopes by V. fischeri.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Loyola University Chicago, 2160 S. First Ave., Bldg. 105, Maywood, IL 60153. Phone: (708) 216-0869. Fax: (708) 216-9574. E-mail: kvisick{at}lumc.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, September 2002, p. 5121-5129, Vol. 184, No. 18
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.18.5121-5129.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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