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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2009, p. 6581-6590, Vol. 75, No. 20
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01240-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

ACC (1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylate) Deaminase Activity, a Widespread Trait in Burkholderia Species, and Its Growth-Promoting Effect on Tomato Plants{triangledown}

Janette Onofre-Lemus,1 Ismael Hernández-Lucas,2 Lourdes Girard,1 and Jesús Caballero-Mellado1*

Centro de Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ap. Postal No. 565-A, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México,1 Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México2

Received 30 May 2009/ Accepted 13 August 2009

The genus Burkholderia includes pathogens of plants and animals and some human opportunistic pathogens, such as the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc), but most species are nonpathogenic, plant associated, and rhizospheric or endophytic. Since rhizobacteria expressing ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate) deaminase may enhance plant growth by lowering plant ethylene levels, in this work we investigated the presence of ACC deaminase activity and the acdS gene in 45 strains, most of which are plant associated, representing 20 well-known Burkholderia species. The results demonstrated that ACC deaminase activity is a widespread feature in the genus Burkholderia, since 18 species exhibited ACC deaminase activities in the range from 2 to 15 µmol of {alpha}-ketobutyrate/h/mg protein, which suggests that these species may be able to modulate ethylene levels and enhance plant growth. In these 18 Burkholderia species the acdS gene sequences were highly conserved (76 to 99% identity). Phylogenetic analysis of acdS gene sequences in Burkholderia showed tight clustering of the Bcc species, which were clearly distinct from diazotrophic plant-associated Burkholderia species. In addition, an acdS knockout mutant of the N2-fixing bacterium Burkholderia unamae MTl-641T and a transcriptional acdSp-gusA fusion constructed in this strain showed that ACC deaminase could play an important role in promotion of the growth of tomato plants. The widespread ACC deaminase activity in Burkholderia species and the common association of these species with plants suggest that this genus could be a major contributor to plant growth under natural conditions.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Centro de Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ap. Postal 565-A, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México. Phone: (52 777) 329-17-03. Fax: (52 777) 317-55-81. E-mail: jesuscab{at}ccg.unam.mx

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 21 August 2009.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2009, p. 6581-6590, Vol. 75, No. 20
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01240-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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