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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2001, p. 5761-5770, Vol. 67, No. 12
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.12.5761-5770.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Visualization of N-Acylhomoserine Lactone-Mediated Cell-Cell Communication between Bacteria Colonizing the Tomato Rhizosphere

Anette Steidle,1 Katja Sigl,1 Regina Schuhegger,2 Alexandra Ihring,1 Markus Schmid,1 Stephan Gantner,3 Marion Stoffels,3 Kathrin Riedel,1 Michael Givskov,4 Anton Hartmann,3 Christian Langebartels,2 and Leo Eberl1,*

Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie, Technische Universität München, D-85350 Freising,1 and Institut für Biochemische Pflanzenpathologie2 and Institut für Bodenökologie,3 GSF-Forschungszentrum, D-85764 Neuherberg, Germany, and Department of Microbiology, DTU, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark4

Received 4 June 2001/Accepted 12 September 2001

Given that a large proportion of the bacteria colonizing the roots of plants is capable of producing N-acyl-L-homoserine lactone (AHL) molecules, it appears likely that these bacterial pheromones may serve as signals for communication between cells of different species. In this study, we have developed and characterized novel Gfp-based monitor strains that allow in situ visualization of AHL-mediated communication between individual cells in the plant rhizosphere. For this purpose, three Gfp-based AHL sensor plasmids that respond to different spectra of AHL molecules were transferred into AHL-negative derivatives of Pseudomonas putida IsoF and Serratia liquefaciens MG1, two strains that are capable of colonizing tomato roots. These AHL monitor strains were used to visualize communication between defined bacterial populations in the rhizosphere of axenically grown tomato plants. Furthermore, we integrated into the chromosome of AHL-negative P. putida strain F117 an AHL sensor cassette that responds to the presence of long-chain AHLs with the expression of Gfp. This monitor strain was used to demonstrate that the indigenous bacterial community colonizing the roots of tomato plants growing in nonsterile soil produces AHL molecules. The results strongly support the view that AHL signal molecules serve as a universal language for communication between the different bacterial populations of the rhizosphere consortium.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, Technical University of Munich, Am Hochanger 4, D-85350 Freising, Germany. Phone: 49 8161 715446. Fax: 49 8161 715475. E-mail: EBERL{at}mikro.biologie.tu-muenchen.de.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2001, p. 5761-5770, Vol. 67, No. 12
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.12.5761-5770.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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Copyright © 2001 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.