A putative novel type of tight adherence (tad) like gene cluster of Pseudomonas chlororaphis PCL1606 exhibits a crucial role in avocado roots colonization, fostering its biological control activity

Aims: Pseudomonas chlororaphis PCL1606 (PcPCL1606), displays strong antagonistic and biological control abilities against several soil-borne fungal pathogens mainly due to the production of the antifungal molecule 2-hexyl, 5-propyl resorcinol (HPR). HPR governs other beneficial phenotypes, suggestin...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Ruiz-Muñoz, Blanca, Rodríguez-García, María, Heredia-Ponce, Zaira, Tienda, Sandra, Villar-Moreno, Rafael, Arrebola, Eva, de Vicente, A., Cazorla, Francisco M., Gutiérrez-Barranquero, José A.
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2025
Country:España
Institution:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repository:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/404154
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/404154
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85217174456
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Avocado roots colonization
HPR signaling network
Pseudomonas chlororaphis PCL1606
Tad-like pilus
Description
Summary:Aims: Pseudomonas chlororaphis PCL1606 (PcPCL1606), displays strong antagonistic and biological control abilities against several soil-borne fungal pathogens mainly due to the production of the antifungal molecule 2-hexyl, 5-propyl resorcinol (HPR). HPR governs other beneficial phenotypes, suggesting its additional regulatory activity. Published transcriptomic data identifying HPR-regulated genes involved in the interaction of PcPCL1606 with the avocado rhizosphere were used as a target database to identify putative genes involved in avocado roots colonization. Methods: The induction of several consecutive genes that showed homology with genes encoding a putative type IV Flp/Tad (tight adherence) pilus but with a few differences from the Tad type A and B was observed. To study the role of this tad-like gene cluster in the biology of PcPCL1606, a chromosomal deletion mutant was constructed. The molecular characterization of the tad-like gene cluster and different in vitro and in vivo phenotypes related to colonization were addressed in the mutant strain respect to PcPCL1606. Results: The tad-like gene cluster was composed of five independent transcriptional units. Furthermore, the tad-like deletion mutant was impaired in early attachment, early biofilm formation, bacterial autoggregation and in root competitiveness in avocado plants and biocontrol activity against R. necatrix. Conclusions: These results expand our understanding about the role of HPR as a putative signalling molecule. This study revealed the importance of a putative novel type of a Tad system of PcPCL1606 in the avocado roots colonization, confirming that initial attachment to roots is a fundamental mechanism for the PcPCL1606 rhizospheric performance.