skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Phevamine A, a small molecule that suppresses plant immune responses

Journal Article · · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Bacterial plant pathogens cause significant crop damage worldwide. They invade plant cells by producing a variety of virulence factors, including small-molecule toxins and phytohormone mimics. Virulence of the model pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pto) is regulated in part by the sigma factor HrpL. Our study of the HrpL regulon identified an uncharacterized, three-gene operon in Pto that is controlled by HrpL and related to the Erwinia hrp-associated systemic virulence (hsv) operon. Here, we demonstrate that the hsv operon contributes to the virulence of Pto on Arabidopsis thaliana and suppresses bacteria-induced immune responses. We show that the hsv-encoded enzymes in Pto synthesize a small molecule, phevamine A. This molecule consists of L-phenylalanine, L-valine, and a modified spermidine, and is different from known small molecules produced by phytopathogens. We show that phevamine A suppresses a potentiation effect of spermidine and L-arginine on the reactive oxygen species burst generated upon recognition of bacterial flagellin. The hsv operon is found in the genomes of divergent bacterial genera, including ~37% of P. syringae genomes, suggesting that phevamine A is a widely distributed virulence factor in phytopathogens. Our work identifies a small-molecule virulence factor and reveals a mechanism by which bacterial pathogens overcome plant defense. This work highlights the power of omics approaches in identifying important small molecules in bacteria–host interactions.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Science Foundation (NSF); Rita Allen Foundation; David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0014395; R00 GM099904; 5T32 GM008500; R01 GM112739-01; IOS-1257373
OSTI ID:
1599002
Journal Information:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 115, Issue 41; ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 19 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (66)

The Arabidopsis Thaliana-Pseudomonas Syringae Interaction journal January 2002
Polyamines as a common source of hydrogen peroxide in host- and nonhost hypersensitive response during pathogen infection journal February 2009
Perturbation of spermine synthase Gene Expression and Transcript Profiling Provide New Insights on the Role of the Tetraamine Spermine in Arabidopsis Defense against Pseudomonas viridiflava journal May 2011
The N Terminus of Bacterial Elongation Factor Tu Elicits Innate Immunity in Arabidopsis Plants journal November 2004
The Arabidopsis Receptor Kinase FLS2 Binds flg22 and Determines the Specificity of Flagellin Perception journal December 2005
A Bacterial Virulence Protein Suppresses Host Innate Immunity to Cause Plant Disease journal July 2006
Inhibition of ornithine decarboxylase activity by phaseolotoxin: Implications for symptom production in halo blight of French bean journal November 1998
Dynamic Evolution of Pathogenicity Revealed by Sequencing and Comparative Genomics of 19 Pseudomonas syringae Isolates journal July 2011
Polyamines: Natural and engineered abiotic and biotic stress tolerance in plants journal May 2011
The mbo Operon Is Specific and Essential for Biosynthesis of Mangotoxin in Pseudomonas syringae journal May 2012
Genetic disassembly and combinatorial reassembly identify a minimal functional repertoire of type III effectors in Pseudomonas syringae journal January 2011
A high-throughput method for quantifying growth of phytopathogenic bacteria in Arabidopsis thaliana: Counting bacteria in Arabidopsis journal November 2001
Cold calcium signaling in Arabidopsis involves two cellular pools and a change in calcium signature after acclimation. journal March 1996
Bacterial disease resistance in Arabidopsis through flagellin perception journal April 2004
Molecular genetics of Erwinia amylovora involved in the development of fire blight journal December 2005
Phaseolotoxin : chlorosis, ornithine accumulation and inhibition of ornithine carbamoyltransferase in different plants journal March 1980
Discovery of 3-Formyl-Tyrosine Metabolites from Pseudoalteromonas tunicata through Heterologous Expression journal January 2010
Solid-Phase Synthesis of Polyamine Toxin Analogues:  Potent and Selective Antagonists of Ca 2+ -Permeable AMPA Receptors journal December 2002
Deletions in the Repertoire of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 Type III Secretion Effector Genes Reveal Functional Overlap among Effectors journal April 2009
Cold Calcium Signaling in Arabidopsis Involves Two Cellular Pools and a Change in Calcium Signature after Acclimation journal March 1996
The Pseudomonas syringae type III effector tyrosine phosphatase HopAO1 suppresses innate immunity in Arabidopsis thaliana: Virulence action of Pst DC3000 effector HopAO1 journal September 2007
A Pseudomonas syringae type III effector suppresses cell wall-based extracellular defense in susceptible Arabidopsis plants journal June 2003
Two Pseudomonas syringae Type III Effectors Inhibit RIN4-Regulated Basal Defense in Arabidopsis journal June 2005
Recombineering and stable integration of the Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae 61 hrp/hrc cluster into the genome of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf0-1: Stable integration of a T3SS-locus into Pf0-1 journal December 2009
The ATP-Dependent Amide Ligases DdaG and DdaF Assemble the Fumaramoyl-Dipeptide Scaffold of the Dapdiamide Antibiotics journal July 2010
Correction: Genomic Analysis of the Kiwifruit Pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae Provides Insight into the Origins of an Emergent Plant Disease journal September 2013
Interactive tree of life (iTOL) v3: an online tool for the display and annotation of phylogenetic and other trees journal April 2016
The Hrp pathogenicity island of Erwinia amylovora and identification of three novel genes required for systemic infection journal March 2005
Synthesis and Biological Activity of Argiotoxin 636 and Analogues: Selective Antagonists for Ionotropic Glutamate Receptors journal April 2009
Arabidopsis NATA1 acetylates putrescine and decreases defense-related hydrogen peroxide accumulation journal April 2016
Defense-Related Proteins in Higher Plants journal June 1990
The ATP-grasp enzymes journal December 2011
A single locus determines sensitivity to bacterial flagellin in Arabidopsis thaliana: Sensitivity of A. thaliana to bacterial flagellin journal May 1999
Exploring Peptide Ligase Orthologs in Actinobacteria—Discovery of Pseudopeptide Natural Products, Ketomemicins journal April 2016
The phytotoxin coronatine is a multifunctional component of the virulence armament of Pseudomonas syringae journal August 2014
The metabolic transition during disease following infection of Arabidopsis thaliana by Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato: The metabolic transition during disease following infection of Arabidopsis journal May 2010
Variable Suites of Non-effector Genes Are Co-regulated in the Type III Secretion Virulence Regulon across the Pseudomonas syringae Phylogeny text January 2014
Physiological and molecular implications of plant polyamine metabolism during biotic interactions journal March 2014
Isolation and structure of a chlorosis-inducing toxin of Pseudomonas phaseolicola journal January 1976
A Novel L -Amino Acid Ligase Is Encoded by a Gene in the Phaseolotoxin Biosynthetic Gene Cluster from Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola 1448A journal November 2008
How Microbes Twist Jasmonate Signaling around Their Little Fingers journal January 2016
Molecular cloning and functional identification of a plant ornithine decarboxylase cDNA journal February 1996
Genomewide identification of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 promoters controlled by the HrpL alternative sigma factor journal February 2002
Detecting Sequence Homology at the Gene Cluster Level with MultiGeneBlast journal February 2013
Variable Suites of Non-effector Genes Are Co-regulated in the Type III Secretion Virulence Regulon across the Pseudomonas syringae Phylogeny journal January 2014
The ATP-Dependent Amide Ligases DdaG and DdaF Assemble the Fumaramoyl-Dipeptide Scaffold of the Dapdiamide Antibiotics journal November 2009
Pseudomonas syringae Phytotoxins: Mode of Action, Regulation, and Biosynthesis by Peptide and Polyketide Synthetases journal June 1999
Synthesis and Biological Activity of Argiotoxin 636 and Analogues: Selective Antagonists for Ionotropic Glutamate Receptors journal April 2009
Plant-Pathogen Effectors: Cellular Probes Interfering with Plant Defenses in Spatial and Temporal Manners journal August 2016
Genomics of secondary metabolite production by Pseudomonas spp. journal January 2009
Dynamic Evolution of Pathogenicity Revealed by Sequencing and Comparative Genomics of 19 Pseudomonas syringae Isolates text January 2011
Genomic and genetic analyses of diversity and plant interactions of Pseudomonas fluorescens journal January 2009
Biosynthesis of Oligopeptides Using ATP-Grasp Enzymes journal June 2017
A family of conserved bacterial effectors inhibits salicylic acid-mediated basal immunity and promotes disease necrosis in plants journal June 2004
From Chaos to Harmony: Responses and Signaling upon Microbial Pattern Recognition journal August 2017
Pseudomonas syringae Type III Effector HopBB1 Promotes Host Transcriptional Repressor Degradation to Regulate Phytohormone Responses and Virulence journal February 2017
Dynamic evolution of pathogenicity revealed by sequencing and comparative genomics of 19 pseudomonas syringae isolates text January 2011
Nonribosomal peptide synthetase biosynthetic clusters of ESKAPE pathogens journal January 2017
Genomic Analysis of the Kiwifruit Pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae Provides Insight into the Origins of an Emergent Plant Disease journal July 2013
Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae harpinPss: A protein that is secreted via the hrp pathway and elicits the hypersensitive response in plants journal July 1993
Genome-Wide Gene Expression Analysis of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 Reveals Overlapping and Distinct Pathways Regulated by hrpL and hrpRS journal September 2006
Components of the Pseudomonas syringae Type III Secretion System Can Suppress and May Elicit Plant Innate Immunity journal June 2010
Impact of Temperature on In Planta Expression of Genes Involved in Synthesis of the Pseudomonas syringae Phytotoxin Coronatine journal October 2004
Pseudomonas syringae effector AvrPtoB suppresses basal defence in Arabidopsis journal August 2006
The Mangotoxin Biosynthetic Operon ( mbo ) Is Specifically Distributed within Pseudomonas syringae Genomospecies 1 and Was Acquired Only Once during Evolution journal November 2012
The Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato HrpW Protein Has Domains Similar to Harpins and Pectate Lyases and Can Elicit the Plant Hypersensitive Response and Bind to Pectate journal October 1998

Cited By (2)


Similar Records

Decreased abundance of type III secretion system-inducing signals in Arabidopsis mkp1 enhances resistance against Pseudomonas syringae
Journal Article · Mon Apr 21 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(18):6846-6851 · OSTI ID:1599002

Indole-3-acetaldehyde dehydrogenase-dependent auxin synthesis contributes to virulence of Pseudomonas syringae strain DC3000
Journal Article · Tue Jan 02 00:00:00 EST 2018 · PLoS Pathogens · OSTI ID:1599002

Subcellular Localization of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato Effector Proteins in Plants
Journal Article · Sat Nov 12 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Methods in Molecular Biology (Online) · OSTI ID:1599002