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Journal of Bacteriology, May 2005, p. 3206-3213, Vol. 187, No. 9
0021-9193/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.187.9.3206-3213.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Autoinduction in Erwinia amylovora: Evidence of an Acyl-Homoserine Lactone Signal in the Fire Blight Pathogen

Lázaro Molina,1* Fabio Rezzonico,1 Geneviève Défago,1 and Brion Duffy2

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ), Institute for Plant Sciences, Phytopathology Group, Zürich,1 Agroscope FAW Wädenswil, Swiss Federal Research Institute for Fruit Production, Viticulture and Horticulture, Wädenswil, Switzerland2

Received 6 December 2004/ Accepted 19 January 2005

Erwinia amylovora causes fire blight disease of apple, pear, and other members of the Rosaceae. Here we present the first evidence for autoinduction in E. amylovora and a role for an N-acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL)-type signal. Two major plant virulence traits, production of extracellular polysaccharides (amylovoran and levan) and tolerance to free oxygen radicals, were controlled in a bacterial-cell-density-dependent manner. Two standard autoinducer biosensors, Agrobacterium tumefaciens NTL4 and Vibrio harveyi BB886, detected AHL in stationary-phase cultures of E. amylovora. A putative AHL synthase gene, eamI, was partially sequenced, which revealed homology with autoinducer genes from other bacterial pathogens (e.g., carI, esaI, expI, hsII, yenI, and luxI). E. amylovora was also found to carry eamR, a convergently transcribed gene with homology to luxR AHL activator genes in pathogens such as Erwinia carotovora. Heterologous expression of the Bacillus sp. strain A24 acyl-homoserine lactonase gene aiiA in E. amylovora abolished induction of AHL biosensors, impaired extracellular polysaccharide production and tolerance to hydrogen peroxide, and reduced virulence on apple leaves.

* Corresponding author. Present address: Max-Planck-Institut für terrestrische Mikrobiologie, Karl-von-Frisch Straße, 35043 Marburg, Germany. Phone: 496421178510. Fax: 496421178509. E-mail: molina{at}staff.uni-marburg.de.

Journal of Bacteriology, May 2005, p. 3206-3213, Vol. 187, No. 9
0021-9193/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.187.9.3206-3213.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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