This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Loper, J. E.
Right arrow Articles by Lindow, S. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Loper, J. E.
Right arrow Articles by Lindow, S. E.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Loper, J. E.
Right arrow Articles by Lindow, S. E.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Appl Environ Microbiol. 1994 June; 60(6): 1934-1941
Copyright © 1994, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

A Biological Sensor for Iron Available to Bacteria in Their Habitats on Plant Surfaces

J. E. Loper1,* and S. E. Lindow2

1 Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon
2 Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Berkeley, California

ABSTRACT

A sensor responsive to iron was constructed by fusing a promoterless ice nucleation activity gene (inaZ) to an iron-regulated promoter of a genomic region involved in pyoverdine (fluorescent siderophore) (pvd) production in Pseudomonas syringae. Cells of Pseudomonas fluorescens and P. syringae that contained the pvd-inaZ fusion expressed iron-responsive ice nucleation activity in the bean rhizosphere and phyllosphere, respectively, and in culture. Addition of Fe(III) to leaves or soil reduced the apparent transcription of the pvd-inaZ reporter gene, as shown by a reduction in the number of ice nuclei produced, indicating that Fe(III) was primarily responsible for mediating transcription of the pvd-inaZ gene even in natural environments. A Pseudomonas sp. strain having an intact iceC gene, which conferred Fe-insensitive expression of ice nucleation activity, was included in all studies to account for small strain- or environment-dependent differences in the ability of bacterial cells to produce ice nuclei. Thus, a comparison of the ice nucleation activity conferred by pvd-inaZ with the activity conferred by iceC revealed the bioavailability of iron in culture or natural habitats. The relative ice nucleation activities expressed by strains containing iceC or pvd-inaZ indicated that, while not abundant, Fe(III) is not present at extremely low concentrations at all microsites colonized by bacteria on plant surfaces. Biological sensors that are constructed by fusing inaZ to chemically responsive promoters provide a novel way to characterize chemical constituents of microbial habitats.

FOOTNOTES

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3420 N.W. Orchard Ave., Corvallis, OR 97330. Phone: (503) 750-8771. Fax: (503) 750-8764. Electronic mail address: Loper J@bcc.orst.edu.

Appl Environ Microbiol. 1994 June; 60(6): 1934-1941
Copyright © 1994, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • DeAngelis, K. M., Firestone, M. K., Lindow, S. E. (2007). Sensitive Whole-Cell Biosensor Suitable for Detecting a Variety of N-Acyl Homoserine Lactones in Intact Rhizosphere Microbial Communities. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 3724-3727 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bantinaki, E., Kassen, R., Knight, C. G., Robinson, Z., Spiers, A. J., Rainey, P. B. (2007). Adaptive Divergence in Experimental Populations of Pseudomonas fluorescens. III. Mutational Origins of Wrinkly Spreader Diversity. Genetics 176: 441-453 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Karamanoli, K., Lindow, S. E. (2006). Disruption of N-Acyl Homoserine Lactone-Mediated Cell Signaling and Iron Acquisition in Epiphytic Bacteria by Leaf Surface Compounds. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 7678-7686 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Goymer, P., Kahn, S. G., Malone, J. G., Gehrig, S. M., Spiers, A. J., Rainey, P. B. (2006). Adaptive Divergence in Experimental Populations of Pseudomonas fluorescens. II. Role of the GGDEF Regulator WspR in Evolution and Development of the Wrinkly Spreader Phenotype. Genetics 173: 515-526 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • DeAngelis, K. M., Ji, P., Firestone, M. K., Lindow, S. E. (2005). Two Novel Bacterial Biosensors for Detection of Nitrate Availability in the Rhizosphere. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 8537-8547 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Brodhagen, M., Henkels, M. D., Loper, J. E. (2004). Positive Autoregulation and Signaling Properties of Pyoluteorin, an Antibiotic Produced by the Biological Control Organism Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf-5. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 1758-1766 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lindow, S. E., Brandl, M. T. (2003). Microbiology of the Phyllosphere. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 1875-1883 [Full Text]  
  • Axtell, C. A., Beattie, G. A. (2002). Construction and Characterization of a proU-gfp Transcriptional Fusion That Measures Water Availability in a Microbial Habitat. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68: 4604-4612 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bultreys, A., Gheysen, I., Maraite, H., de Hoffmann, E. (2001). Characterization of Fluorescent and Nonfluorescent Peptide Siderophores Produced by Pseudomonas syringae Strains and Their Potential Use in Strain Identification. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67: 1718-1727 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Brandl, M. T., Quinones, B., Lindow, S. E. (2001). Heterogeneous transcription of an indoleacetic acid biosynthetic gene in Erwinia herbicola on plant surfaces. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98: 3454-3459 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Miller, W. G., Brandl, M. T., Quiñones, B., Lindow, S. E. (2001). Biological Sensor for Sucrose Availability: Relative Sensitivities of Various Reporter Genes. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67: 1308-1317 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kim, J. J., Sundin, G. W. (2000). Regulation of the rulAB Mutagenic DNA Repair Operon of Pseudomonas syringae by UV-B (290 to 320 Nanometers) Radiation and Analysis of rulAB-Mediated Mutability In Vitro and In Planta. J. Bacteriol. 182: 6137-6144 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Joyner, D. C., Lindow, S. E. (2000). Heterogeneity of iron bioavailability on plants assessed with a whole-cell GFP-based bacterial biosensor. Microbiology 146: 2435-2445 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Rukayadi, Y., Suwanto, A., Tjahjono, B., Harling, R. (2000). Survival and Epiphytic Fitness of a Nonpathogenic Mutant of Xanthomonas campestris pv. Glycines. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 1183-1189 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bultreys, A., Gheysen, I. (2000). Production and Comparison of Peptide Siderophores from Strains of Distantly Related Pathovars of Pseudomonas syringae and Pseudomonas viridiflava LMG 2352. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 325-331 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mercier, J., Lindow, S. E. (2000). Role of Leaf Surface Sugars in Colonization of Plants by Bacterial Epiphytes. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 369-374 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Loper, J. E., Henkels, M. D. (1999). Utilization of Heterologous Siderophores Enhances Levels of Iron Available to Pseudomonas putida in the Rhizosphere. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65: 5357-5363 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Jaeger, C. H. III, Lindow, S. E., Miller, W., Clark, E., Firestone, M. K. (1999). Mapping of Sugar and Amino Acid Availability in Soil around Roots with Bacterial Sensors of Sucrose and Tryptophan. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65: 2685-2690 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»