bThe PilZ domain proteins have been demonstrated to be one of the major types of receptors mediating cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) signaling pathways in several pathogenic bacteria. However, little is known about the function of PilZ domain proteins in c-di-GMP regulation of virulence in the bacterial blight pathogen of rice Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. Here, the roles of PilZ domain proteins PXO_00049 and PXO_02374 in c-di-GMP binding, regulation of virulence and motility, and subcellular localization were characterized in comparison with PXO_02715, identified previously as an interactor with the c-di-GMP receptor Filp to regulate virulence. The c-di-GMP binding motifs in the PilZ domains were conserved in PXO_00049 and PXO_02374 but were less well conserved in PXO_02715. PXO_00049 and PXO_02374 but not PXO_02715 proteins bound to c-di-GMP with high affinity in vitro, and the R 141 and R 10 residues in the PilZ domains of PXO_00049 and PXO_02374, respectively, were crucial for c-di-GMP binding. Gene deletion of PXO_00049 and PXO_02374 resulted in significant increases in virulence and hrp gene transcription, indicating their negative regulation of virulence via type III secretion system expression. All mutants showed significant changes in sliding motility but not exopolysaccharide production and biofilm formation. In trans expression of the fulllength open reading frame (ORF) of each gene in the relevant mutants led to restoration of the phenotype to wild-type levels. Moreover, PXO_00049 and PXO_02374 displayed mainly multisite subcellular localizations, whereas PXO_02715 showed nonpolar distributions in the X. oryzae pv. oryzae cells. Therefore, this study demonstrated the different functions of the PilZ domain proteins in mediation of c-di-GMP regulation of virulence and motility in X. oryzae pv. oryzae.
Cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP) was originally identified as a positive allosteric regulator of cellulose synthase in Gluconacetobacter xylinus (1). Now, it has been recognized as an important intracellular signaling molecule implicated in the control of various bacterial properties, including motility, biofilm formation, adherence, and production of virulence factors (2, 3). The intracellular level of c-di-GMP is controlled by diguanylate cyclases (DGCs), which contain the GGDEF domain, and phosphodiesterases (PDEs), which harbor EAL or HD-GYP domains (4). Also, the downstream cellular functions regulated by c-di-GMP often depend on signal transduction by its receptors or effectors. A wide variety of c-di-GMP receptors have been discovered, such as PilZ domains (5), the transcription factors (6-8), proteins containing degenerate GGDEF or EAL domains (9-11), and the RNA processing polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase) and riboswitches (12-14). Therefore, c-di-GMP can exert a regulatory function at various levels of gene transcription, translation, and posttranslation.The PilZ domain is the first c-di-GMP binding module identified in G. xylinus and is named PilZ domain after being identified from Pseudomonas aerug...