Resistance of <i>Xanthomonas oryzae</i> pv. <i>oryzae</i> to Lytic Phage X2 by Spontaneous Mutation of Lipopolysaccharide Synthesis-Related Glycosyltransferase
Muchen Zhang,
Jiahui Qian,
Xinyan Xu,
Temoor Ahmed,
Yong Yang,
Chenqi Yan,
Mohsen Mohamed Elsharkawy,
Mohamed M. Hassan,
Jamal A. Alorabi,
Jianping Chen,
Bin Li
Affiliations
Muchen Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Jiahui Qian
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Xinyan Xu
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Temoor Ahmed
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Yong Yang
State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Virology and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China
Chenqi Yan
State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Virology and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China
Department of Biology, College of Science, Taif University, Taif P.O. Box 21974, Saudi Arabia
Jamal A. Alorabi
Department of Biology, College of Science, Taif University, Taif P.O. Box 21974, Saudi Arabia
Jianping Chen
State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Virology and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China
Bin Li
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Phage therapy is a promising biocontrol management on plant diseases caused by bacterial pathogens due to its specificity, efficiency and environmental friendliness. The emergence of natural phage-resistant bacteria hinders the application of phage therapy. Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is the causal agent of the devastating bacterial leaf blight disease of rice. Here, we obtained a spontaneous mutant C2R of an Xoo strain C2 showing strong resistance to the lytic phage X2. Analysis of the C2R genome found that the CDS2289 gene encoding glycosyltransferase acquired a frameshift mutation at the 180th nucleotide site, which also leads to a premature stop mutation at the 142nd amino acid. This mutation confers the inhibition of phage adsorption through the changes in lipopolysaccharide production and structure and bacterial surface morphology. Interestingly, glycosyltransferase-deficient C2R and an insertional mutant k2289 also showed reduced virulence, suggesting the trade-off costs of phage resistance. In summary, this study highlights the role of glycosyltransferase in interactions among pathogenic bacteria, phages and plant hosts, which provide insights into balanced coevolution from environmental perspectives.