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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2008, p. 259-264, Vol. 74, No. 1
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01778-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Genetic and Immunological Comparison of the Cladoceran Parasite Pasteuria ramosa with the Nematode Parasite Pasteuria penetrans{triangledown}

Liesbeth M. Schmidt,1 Laurence Mouton,2 Guang Nong,1 Dieter Ebert,2 and James F. Preston1*

University of Florida Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Gainesville, Florida,1 Zoologisches Institut, Universitat Basel, Basel, Switzerland2

Received 31 July 2007/ Accepted 5 October 2007

Pasteuria penetrans, an obligate endospore-forming parasite of Meloidogyne spp. (root knot nematodes), has been identified as a promising agent for biocontrol of these destructive agricultural crop pests. Pasteuria ramosa, an obligate parasite of water fleas (Daphnia spp.), has been shown to modulate cladoceran populations in natural ecosystems. Selected sporulation genes and an epitope associated with the spore envelope of these related species were compared. The sigE and spoIIAA/spoIIAB genes differentiate the two species to a greater extent than 16S rRNA and may serve as probes to differentiate the species. Single-nucleotide variations were observed in several conserved genes of five distinct populations of P. ramosa, and while most of these variations are silent single-nucleotide polymorphisms, a few result in conservative amino acid substitutions. A monoclonal antibody directed against an adhesin epitope present on P. penetrans P20 endospores, previously determined to be specific for Pasteuria spp. associated with several phytopathogenic nematodes, also detects an epitope associated with P. ramosa endospores. Immunoblotting provided patterns that differentiate P. ramosa from other Pasteuria spp. This monoclonal antibody thus provides a probe with which to detect and discriminate endospores of different Pasteuria spp. The presence of a shared adhesin epitope in two species with such ecologically distant hosts suggests that there is an ancient and ecologically significant recognition process in these endospore-forming bacilli that contributes to the virulence of both species in their respective hosts.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Phone: (352) 392-5923. Fax: (352) 392-5922. E-mail: jpreston{at}ufl.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 12 October 2007.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2008, p. 259-264, Vol. 74, No. 1
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01778-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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