Functional analysis of genes for benzoate metabolism in the albicidin biosynthetic region of Xanthomonas albilineans. 2010

Saeed M Hashimi, and Robert G Birch
Botany Department-BIOL, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072, Australia.

Albicidins are potent DNA-gyrase-inhibiting antibiotics and phytotoxins synthesised by Xanthomonas albilineans. Functions have been deduced for some clustered biosynthetic genes, including a PKS-NRPS megasynthase, methyltransferases and regulatory genes, and resistance genes including a transporter and a gyrase-binding protein. More puzzling is the presence in this cluster of apparent aromatic metabolism genes. Here, we describe functional analysis of several such genes and propose a model for their role. An apparent benzoate CoA ligase (xabE) proved essential for albicidin production and pathogenicity. A neighbouring operon includes genes for p-aminobenzoate (PABA) metabolism. A PABA synthase fusion (pabAB) restored prototrophy in pabA and pabB mutants of Escherichia coli, proving functionality. Inactivation of pabAB increased susceptibility to sulphanilamide but did not block albicidin production. X. albilineans contains a remote pabB gene which evidently supplies enough PABA for albicidin biosynthesis in culture. Additional capacity from pabAB may be advantageous in more demanding environments such as infected plants. Downstream from pabAB are a known resistance gene (albG) and ubiC which encodes a p-hydroxybenzoate (PHBA) synthase. PHBA protects X. albilineans from inhibition by PABA. Therefore, coordinated expression may protect X. albilineans against toxicity of both the PABA intermediate and the albicidin product, under conditions that induce high-level antibiotic biosynthesis.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008969 Molecular Sequence Data Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories. Sequence Data, Molecular,Molecular Sequencing Data,Data, Molecular Sequence,Data, Molecular Sequencing,Sequencing Data, Molecular
D009930 Organic Chemicals A broad class of substances containing carbon and its derivatives. Many of these chemicals will frequently contain hydrogen with or without oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, and other elements. They exist in either carbon chain or carbon ring form. Organic Chemical,Chemical, Organic,Chemicals, Organic
D010802 Phylogeny The relationships of groups of organisms as reflected by their genetic makeup. Community Phylogenetics,Molecular Phylogenetics,Phylogenetic Analyses,Phylogenetic Analysis,Phylogenetic Clustering,Phylogenetic Comparative Analysis,Phylogenetic Comparative Methods,Phylogenetic Distance,Phylogenetic Generalized Least Squares,Phylogenetic Groups,Phylogenetic Incongruence,Phylogenetic Inference,Phylogenetic Networks,Phylogenetic Reconstruction,Phylogenetic Relatedness,Phylogenetic Relationships,Phylogenetic Signal,Phylogenetic Structure,Phylogenetic Tree,Phylogenetic Trees,Phylogenomics,Analyse, Phylogenetic,Analysis, Phylogenetic,Analysis, Phylogenetic Comparative,Clustering, Phylogenetic,Community Phylogenetic,Comparative Analysis, Phylogenetic,Comparative Method, Phylogenetic,Distance, Phylogenetic,Group, Phylogenetic,Incongruence, Phylogenetic,Inference, Phylogenetic,Method, Phylogenetic Comparative,Molecular Phylogenetic,Network, Phylogenetic,Phylogenetic Analyse,Phylogenetic Clusterings,Phylogenetic Comparative Analyses,Phylogenetic Comparative Method,Phylogenetic Distances,Phylogenetic Group,Phylogenetic Incongruences,Phylogenetic Inferences,Phylogenetic Network,Phylogenetic Reconstructions,Phylogenetic Relatednesses,Phylogenetic Relationship,Phylogenetic Signals,Phylogenetic Structures,Phylogenetic, Community,Phylogenetic, Molecular,Phylogenies,Phylogenomic,Reconstruction, Phylogenetic,Relatedness, Phylogenetic,Relationship, Phylogenetic,Signal, Phylogenetic,Structure, Phylogenetic,Tree, Phylogenetic
D010935 Plant Diseases Diseases of plants. Disease, Plant,Diseases, Plant,Plant Disease
D003313 Zea mays A plant species of the family POACEAE. It is a tall grass grown for its EDIBLE GRAIN, corn, used as food and animal FODDER. Corn,Indian Corn,Maize,Teosinte,Zea,Corn, Indian
D001426 Bacterial Proteins Proteins found in any species of bacterium. Bacterial Gene Products,Bacterial Gene Proteins,Gene Products, Bacterial,Bacterial Gene Product,Bacterial Gene Protein,Bacterial Protein,Gene Product, Bacterial,Gene Protein, Bacterial,Gene Proteins, Bacterial,Protein, Bacterial,Proteins, Bacterial
D001565 Benzoates Derivatives of BENZOIC ACID. Included under this heading are a broad variety of acid forms, salts, esters, and amides that contain the carboxybenzene structure. Benzoate,Benzoic Acids,Acids, Benzoic
D014974 Xanthomonas A genus in the family XANTHOMONADACEAE whose cells produce a yellow pigment (Gr. xanthos - yellow). It is pathogenic to plants. Xanthomonas albilineans

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