Chemotaxis to plant defense compounds in phytopathogens - PubMed
3 hours ago
- #phytopathogen chemotaxis
- #Pectobacterium atrosepticum
- #plant defense compounds
- Phytopathogens like Pectobacterium atrosepticum have more chemoreceptors than average bacteria, indicating broad chemotactic abilities.
- Three chemoreceptors (PacH, PacI, PacG) were found to recognize structurally similar plant defense compounds, such as salicylate, vanillin, and feruloylagmatine.
- PacH and PacI attract to benzoate derivatives, while PacG binds agmatine and related compounds; agmatine acts as an antagonist by competing for binding.
- Mutations in these receptors abolished chemoattraction, and a pacG mutant showed reduced virulence in plants, highlighting their role in infection.
- Chemotaxis to defense compounds helps pathogens locate infection sites, exploiting plant immune responses for colonization and spread.
- Homologs of these receptors exist in other phytopathogens, suggesting a conserved mechanism across genera like Burkholderia and Ralstonia.