This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Romano, J. D.
Right arrow Articles by Kolter, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Romano, J. D.
Right arrow Articles by Kolter, R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, February 2005, p. 940-948, Vol. 187, No. 3
0021-9193/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.187.3.940-948.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Pseudomonas-Saccharomyces Interactions: Influence of Fungal Metabolism on Bacterial Physiology and Survival

Julia D. Romano1,{dagger} and Roberto Kolter1*

Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts1

Received 30 April 2004/ Accepted 29 October 2004

Fungal-bacterial interactions are ubiquitous, yet their molecular basis is only poorly understood. In this study, a novel beneficial interaction between a strain of Pseudomonas putida and the fungus Saccharomyces cerevisiae was identified. When the bacteria were incubated alone in grape juice or in synthetic medium containing various concentrations of glucose, they lost viability rapidly during stationary phase. However, when the bacteria were incubated in these media in the presence of the fungus, their stationary phase survival improved dramatically. On agar plates containing glucose, the beneficial effects of the fungus were manifested in robust bacterial growth and exopolysaccharide production that led to visible mucoidy. In contrast, bacteria grew poorly and were nonmucoid in such media in the absence of the fungus. By using the available S. cerevisiae deletion library, yeast mutants that were unable to mediate this beneficial interaction were identified. These mutants revealed that the beneficial effect on bacterial physiology and survival was mediated by the ability of the fungus to metabolize the available glucose and consequent effects on the medium's pH. In natural environments where the concentration of glucose is high, it is likely that the presence of fungi has had profound beneficial effects on the physiology and survival of certain P. putida strains throughout their natural history.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: 200 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115. Phone: (617) 432-1776. Fax: (617) 738-7664. E-mail: rkolter{at}hms.harvard.edu.

{dagger} Present address: Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205.

Journal of Bacteriology, February 2005, p. 940-948, Vol. 187, No. 3
0021-9193/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.187.3.940-948.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Straight, P. D., Fischbach, M. A., Walsh, C. T., Rudner, D. Z., Kolter, R. (2007). A singular enzymatic megacomplex from Bacillus subtilis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104: 305-310 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»