Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/80978
Title: VarR controls colonization and virulence in the marine macroalgal pathogen Nautella italica R11
Authors: Gardiner, Melissa
Fernandes, Neil D.
Nowakowski, Dennis
Raftery, Mark
Kjelleberg, Staffan
Zhong, Ling
Thomas, Torsten
Egan, Suhelen
Keywords: Delisea pulchra
Macroalgae
Quorum sensing
Bacterial biofilms
Seaweed disease
Microbial interactions
Solo LuxR-type regulator
Issue Date: 2015
Source: Gardiner, M., Fernandes, N. D., Nowakowski, D., Raftery, M., Kjelleberg, Staffan, Zhong, L., et al. (2015). VarR controls colonization and virulence in the marine macroalgal pathogen Nautella italica R11. Frontiers in Microbiology, 6, 1130-.
Series/Report no.: Frontiers in Microbiology
Abstract: There is increasing evidence to suggest that macroalgae (seaweeds) are susceptible to infectious disease. However, to date, little is known about the mechanisms that facilitate the colonization and virulence of microbial seaweed pathogens. One well-described example of a seaweed disease is the bleaching of the red alga Delisea pulchra, which can be caused by the bacterium Nautella italica R11, a member of the Roseobacter clade. This pathogen contains a unique luxR-type gene, varR, which we hypothesize controls its colonization and virulence. We show here that a varR knock-out strain is deficient in its ability to cause disease in D. pulchra and is defective in biofilm formation and attachment to a common algal polysaccharide. Moreover complementation of the varR gene in trans can restore these functions to the wild type levels. Proteomic analysis of bacterial cells in planktonic and biofilm growth highlight the potential importance of nitrogen scavenging, mobilization of energy reserves, and stress resistance in the biofilm lifestyle of N. italica R11. Moreover, we show that VarR regulates the expression of a specific subset of biofilm-associated proteins. Taken together these data suggest that VarR controls colonization and persistence of N. italica R11 on the surface of a macroalgal host and that it is an important regulator of virulence.
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/80978
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/39026
ISSN: 1664-302X
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.01130
Organisations: Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering
Rights: © 2015 Gardiner, Fernandes, Nowakowski, Raftery, Kjelleberg, Zhong, Thomas and Egan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Fulltext Permission: open
Fulltext Availability: With Fulltext
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