Structural studies of O-specific polysaccharide(s) and biological activity toward plants of the lipopolysaccharide from Azospirillum brasilense SR8.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was extracted from dry bacterial cells of plant-growth-promoting bacterium Azospirillum brasilense SR8 (IBPPM 5). The O-specific polysaccharide (OPS) was obtained by mild acid hydrolysis of the lipopolysaccharide and studied by sugar analysis, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, including 1H,1H COSY, TOCSY, ROESY, and 1H,13C HSQC and HMBC experiments, computational NMR-based structure analysis, and Smith degradation. The OPS was shown to contain two types of repeating units of the following structure: Both OPS structures are present in A. brasilense 54, from which structure 1 has been reported earlier (Fedonenko et al., 2011), whereas to our knowledge structure 2 has not been hitherto found in bacterial saccharides. Treatment of wheat seedling roots with LPS of A. brasilense SR8 increased the number of root hair deformations as compared to seedlings grown without LPS, but had no effect on adsorption of the bacteria to the root surface. A. brasilense SR8 was able to utilize LPS of several structurally related Azospirillum strains.

[Changes in Cell Surface Properties and Biofilm Formation Efficiency in Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 Mutants in the Putative Genes of Lipid Metabolism mmsB1 and fabG1].

The previously obtained insertion mutants ofAzospirillum brasilense Sp245 in the genes mmsBl and fabG1 (strains SK039 and Sp245.1610, respectively) were characterized by impaired flagellation and motility. The putative products of expression of these genes are 3-hydroxyisobutyrate dehydrogenase and 3-oxoacyl-[acyl-carrier protein] reductase, respectively. In the present work, A. brasilense- Sp245 strains SK039 and Sp245.1610 were found to have differences in the content of 3-hydroxyhexadecanoic, hexadecanoic, 3-hydroxytetradecanoic, hexadecenoic, octadecenoic, and nonadecanoic acids in their lipopolysaccharide prepa- rations, as well as in cell hydrophobicity and hemagglutination activity and dynamics of cell aggregation, in biomass amount, and in the relative content of lipopolysaccharide antigens in mature biofilms formed on hydrophilic or hydrophobic surfaces.

[Biofilm Formation by the Nonflagellated flhB1 Mutant of Azospirillum brasilense Sp245].

Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 with mixed flagellation are able to form biofilms on various surfaces. A nonflagellated mutant of this strain with inactivated chromosomal copy of the flhB gene (flhB1) was shown to exhibit specific traits at the later stages of biofilm formation on a hydrophilic (glass) surface. Mature biofilms of the flhB1::Omegon-Km mutant Sp245.1063 were considerably thinner than those of the parent strain Sp245. The biofilms of the mutant were more susceptible to the forces of hydrodynamic shear. A. brasilense Sp245 cells in biofilms were not found to possess lateral flagella. Cells with polar flagella were, however, revealed by atomic force microscopy of mature native biofilms of strain Sp245. Preservation of a polar flagellum (probably nonmotile) on the cells of A. brasilense Sp245 may enhance the biofilm stability.

[Mutants of bacterium Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 with Omegon insertion in mmsB or fabG genes of lipid metabolism are defective in motility and flagellation].

Bacteria Azospirillum brasilense have mixed flagellation: in addition to the polar flagellum, numerous lateral flagella are formed in their cells on medium with increased density. Flagella determine the active swimming and swarming capacities of azospirilla. Using A. brasilense Sp245 as an example, we showed that the Omegon-Km artificial transposon insertion into the chromosomal gene for 3-hydroxyisobutyrate dehydrogenase (mmsB) was concurrent with the appearance of significant defects in the formation of polar flagella and with the paralysis of lateral flagella. The Sp245 mutant with the Omegon insertion into the plasmid AZOBR_p1-borne gene for 3-oxoacyl-[acyl-carrier protein]-reductase (fabG) showed the complete loss of flagella and the swarming capacity, as well as significant defects in polar flagellar assembly (though some cells are still motile in liquid medium). The viability of the A. brasilense Sp245 mutants with the Omegon insertion into the mmsB or fabG gene was not reduced. No considerable differences in the fatty acid composition of whole cell lipid extracts were found for the A. brasilense Sp245 strain and its mmsB and fabG mutants.

[Insertional mutagenesis of a chromosomal copy of flhB gene is concurrent with defects in the formation of polar and lateral flagella in bacterium Azospirillum brasilense Sp245].

Based on an example of Azospirillum brasilense Sp245, it was shown that, in bacteria with mixed flagellation, insertional mutagenesis of one of the copies of the flhB gene, which encodes a component of the flagellar protein export apparatus, may be concurrent with defects in the formation of both a constitutive polar flagellum and inducible lateral flagella. Despite the presence of a second copy of flhB in the plasmid-located gene cluster, which seems necessary for the formation of lateral flagella, the flhB1::Omegon-Km Sp245 mutant completely lost the ability to produce them. The described effect of the inactivation of flhB1 might be explained by the use of FlhB1 for the assembly of both types of flagella. Since the open reading frame AZOBR_150176, which is transcribed in the same direction and codes for a hypothetical multisensor hybrid histidine kinase/response regulator, adjoins to the 3'-end of flhB1, the participation of the latter protein in-the induction of the lateral flagellar synthesis in response to the increase in the density of the environment was not excluded.

[Alterations in the primary structure of an 85-MDa plasmid affecting flagellation and motility of bacterium Azospirillum brasilense Sp245].

Earlier such Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 mutants as flagellation-defective SK051, SK248 with immobilized flagella, and BK570 swimming and swarming faster than Sp245 were obtained. In SK051 and SK248 the self-killer vector pJFF350 integrated into the 18.3-kb XhoI fragment ofplasmid 85MDa (p85) while in BK570, it integrated into the 9.1-kb XhoI-fragment of p85. In the present work, analysis of the nucleotide sequence of fusion products of p85 and pJFF350 was performed. In p85, in addition to three IS elements (two of which caused cointegrate formation) and phage integrase gene, 22 open reading frames with coding sequence properties were identified. Possible participation of predicted translation products of several p85 genes in bacterial motility detection is discussed. Since differences in the primary structure of p85::pJFF350 cointegrates from SK051 and SK248 cells are localized within pJFF350 DNA, different effects of DNA-folding changes on expression of corresponding p85 genes are suggested.

[Localization of denitrification genes in plasmid DNA of bacteria Azospirillum brasilense].

In 85-Mda plasmid (p85) of plant-associated bacteria Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 model strain, the genes encoding copper-containing nitrite reductase (nirK); heterodimeric NO-reductase (norCB); NorQ and NorD proteins affecting synthesis and (or) activation of NirK and (or) NO-reductase (norQD); catalytic subunit I ofcytochrom c oxidase (CccoN); presumable NO sensor carrying two hemeerythrine domains (orf181); and an enzyme required for synthesis of presumable NO antagonist, homocystein (metC) were identified. In the same region of p85, orf293 encoding transcriptional regulator of LysR type, orf208 whose protein product carries a formylmethanofuran dehydrogenase subunit E domain, and an orf164-encoding conservative secretory protein with unknown function were also found. Localization of a set of denitrification genes in the plasmid DNA A. brasilense Sp245 adjacent to IS elements ISAzba1 and ISAzba2 indicates potential mobility of these genes and high probability of their horizontal transfer among populations of rhizospheric bacteria. A site homologous to p85 nirK-orf208-orf181 genes was detected in the 115 kb plasmid of A. brasilense Sp7 type strain.

[The effect of mutations in the synthesis of lipopolysaccharides and calcofluor-binding polysaccharides on biofilm formation by Azospirillum brasilense].

The thickness and antigenic properties of biofilms produced by Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 and its mutants deficient in the synthesis of lipopolysaccharides (Lps) and calcofluor-binding polysaccharides (CBPS) at the interface between water and hydrophilic or hydrophobic solid surfaces were compared. The mutants deficient in acidic LpsI synthesis produce thicker biofilms on hydrophilic surfaces. Biofilms produced on hydrophobic surfaces by bacteria that are unable to synthesize CBPS are less pronounced. Defects in CBPS production in Azospirillum mutants with impaired flagellar motility can cause adverse effects on the cell ability to attach to hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces. The loss of the neutral LpsII antigen by the mutants capable of producing CBPS does not affect their behavior on hydrophobic surfaces, which is probably due to the compensatory increase in the total polysaccharide production. The fundamental change in the Lps structure correlates with the activation of biofilm formation by the relevant mutants on hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces.

[Detection of a surface sheath on Azospirillum brasilense polar flagellum].

The presence of a polysaccharide sheath on the surface of the polar flagellum of Azospirillum brasilense was revealed by immunoelectron microscopy and immunodiffusion analysis with strain-specific antibodies to lipopolysaccharides (LPS). The antigenic identity of A. brasilense Sp245 sheath material and one of the two O-specific polysaccharides of its somatic LPS was demonstrated. The screening effect of the sheath in respect to flagellin was determined by agglutination tests and by the inhibition of azospirilla motility in liquid and semisolid agarized media caused by strain-specific antibodies to LPS; no pronounced effect of genus-specific antibodies to flagellin was observed.

[Effect of Congo red on the motility of the bacterium Azospirillum brasilense].

In semiliquid laboratory media, the bacterium Azospirillum brasilense migrates with the formation of swarming rings. It is demonstrated that adsorption of the sulfonated azodye Congo Red confers on A. brasilense the ability to consistently spread in a semiliquid agar and form microcolonies. Spontaneous variants of A. brasilense with rapid swarming are described, as well as variants that swarm in the presence of Congo Red. It is assumed that at least two types of compounds are formed, which are (a) necessary for swarming and/or spreading with the formation of microcolonies and (b) capable of interacting with Congo Red.

[Effect of integrating the pJFF350 vector into the 85-MDa plasmid of Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 on bacterial flagellation and mobility]. / Vliianie integratsii vektora pJFF350 v 85-MDa plamidu Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 na zhgutikovanie i podvizhnost' bakterii.

Results of genetic analysis of three derivatives of Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 (strains BK570, SK051, and SK248) carrying cointegrates of plasmids 85-MDa and pJFF350 (the vector for omegon mutagenesis), which manifest abnormalities in flagellation and motility, are presented. It was shown for the first time that the integration of the suicide vector into one of Azospirillum resident plasmids is accompanied by the formation of various fusion products and changes in flagellation and motility of these bacteria, such as the loss of the polar (Fla) and lateral (Laf) flagella in SK051; inactivation of Fla and Laf in SK248; and Fla-dependent acceleration of expansion in semiliquid media in BK570.

[Complementation analysis of mutants of the associative bacteria Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 and S27, defective in mobility and flagellation]. / Komplementatsionnyi analiz mutantov assotsiativnykh bakterii Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 i S27, defektnykh po podvizhnosti i zhgutikovaniiu.

Three mutants of Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 incapable of both formation of the polar flagellum (Fla-phenotype) and swarming in semisolid media (Swa-phenotype) were characterized. These mutants were shown to have lost the 85-MDa plasmid and to carry the Tn5-Mob transposon and pSUP5011 vector in different regions of their genomes. With the use of A. brasilense Sp245 gene bank, the capacity for both polar flagellum formation and swarming was restored in the above mutants and in the previously generated transposon mutants A. brasilense Sp245 and S27. The transconjugants obtained were only slightly motile in the liquid culture. In the gene bank of Sp245, the recombinant plasmids carrying wild-type fla/swa loci were identified.

[Formation of polar bundles of pili on a cell and the behavior of Azospirillum brasilense in semiliquid agar]. / Obrazovanie na kletke Azospirillum brasilense poliarnogo puchka pilei i povedenie bakterii v poluzhidkom agare.

This paper describes the formation of single polar bundles of pili on Azospirillum brasilense cells, the twitching motility of cell aggregates, and a new type of social behavior--the dispersal of bacterial cells in semiliquid agar associated with the formation of granular inclusions (the so-called Gri+ phenotype)--which is an alternative to swarming (the Swa+ phenotype). The wild-type A. brasilense cells occurring in a semiliquid agar may show either the Swa+Gri-, or Swa-Gri-, or Swa-Gri+ phenotype. The formation of single polar flagella (Fla) or polar bundles of pili may reflect two alternative states of A. brasilense cells. The components of the Fla system may be involved in the regulation of the phenotypic variation of azospirilla.

[Transposon tnPhoA mutagenesis as a method of obtaining mutants of Azospirillum brasilense by motility and flagellation]. / Transpozonovyi tnPhoA mutagenez kak sposob polucheniia mutantov Azospirillum brasilense po podvizhnosti i zhgutikovaniiu.

Three A. brasilense strains (S27, SpBr14, and KR77) did not hydrolyze the chromogenic substrate of alkaline phosphatase (PhoA), X-phosphate, in situ, and were used as recipients in experiments on TnphoA mutagenesis. KMR transconjugates were obtained only for A. brasilense S27, 85% of them were also PhoA+. About 12% TnphoA mutants of A. brasilense S27 had reduces capacity to swarming and 3% of mutants neither swam nor swarmed. These totally immotile clones were examined under transmission electron microscope and were classified as Fla-Laf-, Fla-leakyLaf-, and Fla-Laf+ mutants. In Fla-Laf+ TnphoA mutants of S27, the expression of their lateral flagella (Laf) retained the wild-type inducibility. The presence of intact polar flagellum (Fla) did not seem to be obligatory for controllable expression of Laf in A. brasilense S27. The data suggest that A. brasilense S27 Fla and Laf systems have common structural and/or regulatory components. The PhoA+ phenotype of S27 Fla- mutants suggested a periplasmic and/or membrane localization of the hybrid proteins, the formation of which blocks the flagellar assembly or functioning. Immunochemical analysis with antibodies to alkaline phosphatase will identify these proteins.