Studies on boric acid chemotaxis in plant pathogen

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K21146
• Project/Area Number (Other): 18H06004 (2018)
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund (2019); Single-year Grants (2018)
• Review Section: 0601:Agricultural chemistry and related fields
• Research Institution: Hiroshima University
• Principal Investigator: Hida Akiko 広島大学, 統合生命科学研究科(先), 助教 (70825760)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-08-24 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 走化性 / ホウ酸 / 植物病原菌 / 走化性センサータンパク質

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Motile bacteria sense chemical gradients in environment and swim toward their favorable sites or away from unfavorable sites. The behavior is called chemotaxis. Since BLAST analysis using amino-acid sequence of chemotaxis sensor for boric acid previously identified in R. solanacearum showed that boric acid sensors are distributed only among plant pathogens, boric acid chemotaxis might play an important role for infection of plant pathogens. In this study, new boric acid sensors were identified in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci and Dickeya dadantii, respectively. In plant infection assay using P. syringae mutant defective in boric acid chemotaxis, no involvement of boric acid chemotaxis in plant infection was observed. However, boric acid sensor of D. dadantii had already been reported as protein involved in invasion of plants through wounds. It is therefore strongly suggested that chemotaxis to boric acid is important for plant infection in at least D. dadantii.

Free Research Field

応用微生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

タバコ野火病菌・青枯病菌ともに世界のトップ10植物病原菌（2012年）の1位と2位に位置する世界的に深刻な農業被害をもたらす植物病原菌である。特に青枯病菌は現在も有効な感染防除法が確立されていない病原菌であり、このような細菌の感染機構の理解は新たな感染防除法の確立に寄与すると考えられる。また、ホウ酸走化性については他に一切研究されておらず、もし多くの植物病原菌に共通するようなホウ酸走化性を利用した感染機構の存在が証明できたなら、幅広い植物病原菌に有効な感染防除法の提案にもつながるかもしれない。