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Mutations that Affect Agrobacterium vitis-Induced Grape Necrosis also Alter Its Ability to Cause a Hypersensitive Response on Tobacco

First, second, third, fifth, sixth, eighth, and ninth authors: Department of Plant Pathology, NYSAES Cornell University, Geneva, NY 14456; second author: Department of Agronomy, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; and fourth and seventh authors: Biology Department, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY 14456

Tn5-induced mutations in Agrobacterium vitis F2/5 resulted in both altered grape necrosis and tobacco leaf panel collapse phenotypes, suggesting that the underlying mechanisms of the reactions are related. The reaction on tobacco resembles the classical hypersensitive response (HR) caused by several plant pathogenic bacteria in that it is observable within 14 h, is inhibited by treatment of plants with metabolic inhibitors, and results in the inability to recover the pathogen from the necrotic zone. Strains of A. vitis differ with regard to their efficiency of causing the reaction on tobacco. An EcoRI fragment from one mutant, M6, which is necrosis-altered and HR-minus, was cloned and sequenced. Sequence analysis revealed that the Tn5 insertion occurred in a region that shares significant homology with genes involved in long chain fatty acid production by the marine bacteria Shewanella spp. and Moritella marina. Complementation of M6 with a cosmid clone from an F2/5 DNA library restored the tobacco HR and grape necrosis phenotypes.