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 Mendrygal, K. E.
Right arrow Articles by González, J. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Mendrygal, K. E.
Right arrow Articles by González, J. E.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, February 2000, p. 599-606, Vol. 182, No. 3
0021-9193/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Environmental Regulation of Exopolysaccharide Production in Sinorhizobium meliloti

Kiprian E. Mendrygal and Juan E. González*

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75083-0688

Received 26 August 1999/Accepted 29 October 1999

Exopolysaccharide production by Sinorhizobium meliloti is required for invasion of root nodules on alfalfa and successful establishment of a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis between the two partners. S. meliloti wild-type strain Rm1021 requires production of either succinoglycan, a polymer of repeating octasaccharide subunits, or EPS II, an exopolysaccharide of repeating dimer subunits. The reason for the production of two functional exopolysaccharides is not clear. Earlier reports suggested that low-phosphate conditions stimulate the production of EPS II in Rm1021. We found that phosphate concentrations determine which exopolysaccharide is produced by S. meliloti. The low-phosphate conditions normally found in the soil (1 to 10 µM) stimulate EPS II production, while the high-phosphate conditions inside the nodule (20 to 100 mM) block EPS II synthesis and induce the production of succinoglycan. Interestingly, the EPS II produced by S. meliloti in low-phosphate conditions does not allow the invasion of alfalfa nodules. We propose that this invasion phenotype is due to the lack of the active molecular weight fraction of EPS II required for nodule invasion. An analysis of the function of PhoB in this differential exopolysaccharide production is presented.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: FO 3.1, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75083-0688. Phone: (972) 883-2526. Fax: (630) 604-3093. E-mail: jgonzal{at}utdallas.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, February 2000, p. 599-606, Vol. 182, No. 3
0021-9193/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Rinaudi, L. V., Gonzalez, J. E. (2009). The Low-Molecular-Weight Fraction of Exopolysaccharide II from Sinorhizobium meliloti Is a Crucial Determinant of Biofilm Formation. J. Bacteriol. 191: 7216-7224 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • O'May, G. A., Jacobsen, S. M., Longwell, M., Stoodley, P., Mobley, H. L. T., Shirtliff, M. E. (2009). The high-affinity phosphate transporter Pst in Proteus mirabilis HI4320 and its importance in biofilm formation. Microbiology 155: 1523-1535 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • McIntosh, M., Krol, E., Becker, A. (2008). Competitive and Cooperative Effects in Quorum-Sensing-Regulated Galactoglucan Biosynthesis in Sinorhizobium meliloti. J. Bacteriol. 190: 5308-5317 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bahlawane, C., Baumgarth, B., Serrania, J., Ruberg, S., Becker, A. (2008). Fine-Tuning of Galactoglucan Biosynthesis in Sinorhizobium meliloti by Differential WggR (ExpG)-, PhoB-, and MucR-Dependent Regulation of Two Promoters. J. Bacteriol. 190: 3456-3466 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hoang, H. H., Gurich, N., Gonzalez, J. E. (2008). Regulation of Motility by the ExpR/Sin Quorum-Sensing System in Sinorhizobium meliloti. J. Bacteriol. 190: 861-871 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Candon, H. L., Allan, B. J., Fraley, C. D., Gaynor, E. C. (2007). Polyphosphate Kinase 1 Is a Pathogenesis Determinant in Campylobacter jejuni. J. Bacteriol. 189: 8099-8108 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Glenn, S. A., Gurich, N., Feeney, M. A., Gonzalez, J. E. (2007). The ExpR/Sin Quorum-Sensing System Controls Succinoglycan Production in Sinorhizobium meliloti. J. Bacteriol. 189: 7077-7088 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Vriezen, J. A. C., de Bruijn, F. J., Nusslein, K. (2007). Responses of Rhizobia to Desiccation in Relation to Osmotic Stress, Oxygen, and Temperature. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 3451-3459 [Full Text]  
  • Wang, C., Saldanha, M., Sheng, X., Shelswell, K. J., Walsh, K. T., Sobral, B. W. S., Charles, T. C. (2007). Roles of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) and glycogen in symbiosis of Sinorhizobium meliloti with Medicago sp.. Microbiology 153: 388-398 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mouery, K., Rader, B. A., Gaynor, E. C., Guillemin, K. (2006). The Stringent Response Is Required for Helicobacter pylori Survival of Stationary Phase, Exposure to Acid, and Aerobic Shock.. J. Bacteriol. 188: 5494-5500 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Miller-Williams, M., Loewen, P. C., Oresnik, I. J. (2006). Isolation of salt-sensitive mutants of Sinorhizobium meliloti strain Rm1021. Microbiology 152: 2049-2059 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wells, D. H., Gaynor, E. C. (2006). Helicobacter pylori Initiates the Stringent Response upon Nutrient and pH Downshift.. J. Bacteriol. 188: 3726-3729 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Keshavan, N. D., Chowdhary, P. K., Haines, D. C., Gonzalez, J. E. (2005). L-Canavanine Made by Medicago sativa Interferes with Quorum Sensing in Sinorhizobium meliloti. J. Bacteriol. 187: 8427-8436 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Brencic, A., Winans, S. C. (2005). Detection of and Response to Signals Involved in Host-Microbe Interactions by Plant-Associated Bacteria. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 69: 155-194 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Danhorn, T., Hentzer, M., Givskov, M., Parsek, M. R., Fuqua, C. (2004). Phosphorus Limitation Enhances Biofilm Formation of the Plant Pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens through the PhoR-PhoB Regulatory System. J. Bacteriol. 186: 4492-4501 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Marketon, M. M., Glenn, S. A., Eberhard, A., Gonzalez, J. E. (2003). Quorum Sensing Controls Exopolysaccharide Production in Sinorhizobium meliloti. J. Bacteriol. 185: 325-331 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Pellock, B. J., Teplitski, M., Boinay, R. P., Bauer, W. D., Walker, G. C. (2002). A LuxR Homolog Controls Production of Symbiotically Active Extracellular Polysaccharide II by Sinorhizobium meliloti. J. Bacteriol. 184: 5067-5076 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Pellock, B. J., Cheng, H.-P., Walker, G. C. (2000). Alfalfa Root Nodule Invasion Efficiency Is Dependent on Sinorhizobium meliloti Polysaccharides. J. Bacteriol. 182: 4310-4318 [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»