Publications

4576

The citrus industry has been threatened by Huanglongbing (HLB) for over a century. Here, an HLB-induced Arabidopsis RPM1-interacting protein 4 (RIN4) homologous gene was cloned from Citrus clementina, and its characteristics and function were analyzed to determine its role during citrus–Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) interactions. Quantitative real-time PCR showed that RIN4 was expressed in roots, stems, leaves and flowers, with the greatest expression level in leaves. Its expression was suppressed by gibberellic acid, indole-3-acetic acid, salicylic acid and jasmonic acid treatments, but was induced by abscisic acid and salt treatments, as well as wounding. The transient expression of a RIN4-GFP showed that RIN4 was localized in the cell membrane. RIN4-overexpressing transgenic C. maxima cv. ‘Shatianyou’ plants were obtained, and some transgenic plants showed greater sensitivity to CLas infection and earlier HLB symptoms appearance than non-transgenic controls. Results obtained in this study indicated that the upregulated expression of RIN4 in HLB diseased citrus may aid CLas infection.

Trichomoniasis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection worldwide, is caused by the protozoon Trichomonas vaginalis. The 5- nitroimidazole drugs, of which metronidazole is the most prescribed, are the only effective drugs to treat trichomoniasis. Resistance against metronidazole is increasingly reported among T. vaginalis isolates. T. vaginalis can establish an endosymbiosis with two Mycoplasma species, Mycoplasma hominis and Candidatus Mycoplasma girerdii, whose presence has been demonstrated to influence several aspects of the protozoan pathobiology. The role of M. hominis in T. vaginalis resistance to metronidazole is controversial, while the influence of Ca. M. girerdii has never been investigated. In this work, we investigate the possible correlation between the presence of Ca. M. girerdii and/or M. hominis and the in vitro drug susceptibility in a large group of T. vaginalis isolated in Italy and in Vietnam. We also evaluated, via RNA-seq analysis, the expression of protozoan genes involved in metronidazole resistance in a set of syngenic T. vaginalis strains, differing only for the presence/absence of the two Mycoplasmas. Our results show that the presence of M. hominis significantly increases the sensitivity to metronidazole in T. vaginalis and affects gene expression. On the contrary, the symbiosis with Candidatus Mycoplasma girerdii seems to have no effect on metronidazole resistance in T. vaginalis.

The pathogens associated with citrus Huanglongbing symptoms, including yellowing and mottled leaves in Citrus maxima, an important economic crop on Hainan Island of China, were identified and characterized. In the study, detection, genetic variation and phylogenetic relationship analysis of the pathogens were performed based on 16S rRNA and β-operon gene fragments specific to phytoplasma and Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus. The results indicated that the pathogens—such as phytoplasma strains of CmPII-hn belonging to the 16SrII-V subgroup and CmPXXXII-hn belonging to the 16SrXXXII-D subgroup, as well as Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus strains CmLas-hn—were identified in the diseased plant samples, with numbers of 12, 2 and 6 out of 54, respectively. Among them, mixed infection with the 16SrII-V subgroup phytoplasma and Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus was found in the study, accounting for 7.4% (four samples). The phytoplasma strains of CmPII-hn—Tephrosia purpurea witches’ broom, Melochia corchorifolia witches’ broom and Emilia sonchifolia witches’ broom—were clustered into one clade belonging to the 16SrII-V subgroup, with a 99% bootstrap value. The phytoplasma strains of CmPXXXII-hn and Trema tomentosa witches’ broom belonging to 16SrXXXII-D, and the other 16SrXXXII subgroup strains were clustered into one clade belonging to the 16SrXXXII group with a 99% bootstrap value. There were 16 variable loci in the 16S rRNA gene sequences of the tested 16SrXXXII group phytoplasma strains, of which two bases had an insertion/deletion. The strains of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, identified in the study and the strains that had been deposited in GenBank, were in one independent cluster with a 99% bootstrap value. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that Citrus maxima can be infected by 16SrII-V and16SrXXXII-D subgroup phytoplasmas in China. Moreover, this is also the first report in which the plants are co-infected by 16SrII-V subgroup phytoplasmas and Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus. More comprehensive and detailed identification and characterization of the pathogens associated with the diseased symptoms in Citrus maxima on the island in China would be beneficial for epidemic monitoring and for the effective prevention and control of related plant diseases.

Citrus Huanglongbing (HLB, also known as “citrus greening”), an important disease worldwide, is associated with three species of phloem-limited Candidatus liberibacter, of which Candidatus L. asiaticus (CLas) is the predominant one that has severely affected citrus production. TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (TM) has been the standard and very efficient method to diagnose several strains of Candidatus Liberibacter in citrus; however, it detects total bacteria and is unable to differentiate dead from live Liberibacter. The detection of only live bacteria is essential for testing methods of control for this important citrus disease. It is well known that ethidium monoazide and propidium monoazide (PMA) are compounds that supposedly enter only dead or membrane-damaged bacteria, intercalate the DNA strand, and make the DNA unavailable for amplification by PCR. These compounds are widely used when extracting the plant DNA to detect only live bacteria. In this research, we tested primers amplifying products from 79 to 1160 bp in TM and SYBR Green real-time PCR (SG) and PMA as DNA intercalating compound. Specifically, primers amplifying a 500-bp amplicon in SG provided the most reliable live-only detection, whereas those producing a smaller amplicon were unable to distinguish between live and dead. This is the first report of testing primers amplifying various amplicon sizes for the detection of only live CLas cells in citrus.

Abstract Hydrothermal plumes transport reduced chemical species and metals into the open ocean. Despite their considerable spatial scale and impact on biogeochemical cycles, niche differentiation of abundant microbial clades is poorly understood. Here, we analyzed the microbial ecology of two bathy- (Brothers volcano; BrV-cone and northwest caldera; NWC) and a mesopelagic (Macauley volcano; McV) plumes on the Kermadec intra-oceanic arc in the South Pacific Ocean. The microbial community structure, determined by a combination of 16S rRNA gene, fluorescence in situ hybridization and metagenome analysis, was similar to the communities observed in other sulfur-rich plumes. This includes a dominance of the vent characteristic SUP05 clade (up to 22% in McV and 51% in BrV). In each of the three plumes analyzed, the community was dominated by a different yet uncultivated chemoautotrophic SUP05 species, here, provisionally named, Candidatus Thioglobus vadi (McV), Candidatus Thioglobus vulcanius (BrV-cone) and Candidatus Thioglobus plumae (BrV-NWC). Statistical analyses, genomic potential and mRNA expression profiles suggested a SUP05 niche partitioning based on sulfide and iron concentration as well as water depth. A fourth SUP05 species was present at low frequency throughout investigated plume samples and may be capable of heterotrophic or mixotrophic growth. Taken together, we propose that small variations in environmental parameters and depth drive SUP05 niche partitioning in hydrothermal plumes.

Citrus huanglongbing (HLB) is present in 10 provinces in China and is associated with ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (CLas), which is transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri, ACP). To date, HLB and ACP have expanded to Yibin city of Sichuan Province, posing an imminent threat to the citrus belt of the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, an important late-maturing citrus-producing area in China. To understand the epidemiological route of CLas and ACP in newly invaded regions of Sichuan and thereby better establish an HLB interception zone ranging from Leibo to Yibin, we evaluated the molecular variability of 19 CLas draft genomes from citrus or dodder (Cuscuta campestris). They include three type-specific prophage loci, three variable number tandem repeat loci, a miniature inverted-repeat transposable element, and population diversity of 44 ACP mitochondrial genomes. The results indicated that CLas isolates in the newly invaded area (Pingshan) were more diverse than those in the HLB endemic areas (Leibo and Ningnan). Phylogenetic analysis based on mitochondrial genomes demonstrated that ACPs in Leibo, Pingshan, and Xuzhou (rural areas) represent a new mitochondrial group (MG4), distinguished by the three unique single-nucleotide polymorphisms in cox1, nad4, and cytb. However, the ACPs sampled from the urban areas of Cuiping and Xuzhou belonged to the southeastern China group (MG2-1). Altogether, our study revealed multiple sources of ACP and CLas in the HLB interception zone and proposed their transmission route. This study contributes to the formulation of precise HLB prevention and control strategies in the HLB interception zone in Sichuan and could be useful for HLB management efforts in other regions.

Abstract Niche concept is a core tenet of ecology that has recently been applied in marine microbial research to describe the partitioning of taxa based either on adaptations to specific conditions across environments or on adaptations to specialised substrates. In this study, we combine spatiotemporal dynamics and predicted substrate utilisation to describe species-level niche partitioning within the NS5 Marine Group. Despite NS5 representing one of the most abundant marine flavobacterial clades from across the world’s oceans, our knowledge on their phylogenetic diversity and ecological functions is limited. Using novel and database-derived 16S rRNA gene and ribosomal protein sequences, we delineate the NS5 into 35 distinct species-level clusters, contained within four novel candidate genera. One candidate species, “Arcticimaribacter forsetii AHE01FL”, includes a novel cultured isolate, for which we provide a complete genome sequence—the first of an NS5—along with morphological insights using transmission electron microscopy. Assessing species’ spatial distribution dynamics across the Tara Oceans dataset, we identify depth as a key influencing factor, with 32 species preferring surface waters, as well as distinct patterns in relation to temperature, oxygen and salinity. Each species harbours a unique substrate-degradation potential along with predicted substrates conserved at the genus-level, e.g. alginate in NS5_F. Successional dynamics were observed for three species in a time-series dataset, likely driven by specialised substrate adaptations. We propose that the ecological niche partitioning of NS5 species is mainly based on specific abiotic factors, which define the niche space, and substrate availability that drive the species-specific temporal dynamics.