New Study Reveals Bacterial Pathogen’s Broader Impact Across Plant Kingdom
New Study Reveals Bacterial Pathogen’s Broader Impact Across Plant Kingdom
A new analysis suggests that the ability of bacteria to spread disease across the Plant Kingdom may be far more widespread than previously thought. Researchers at the John Innes Centre conducted a comparative evolutionary study using Pseudomonas syringae bacteria to explore how this pathogen infects a variety of plants, even those distantly related.
In their experiments, Dr. Phil Carella and his team analyzed syringomycin, a toxin produced by the most common infectious strains of P. syringae, and tested its effects on both non-flowering and flowering plants. The results revealed that syringomycin was toxic to non-flowering plants, including model species like liverworts and ferns. This toxicity caused tissue death and activated stress-related genes in these plants.
Interestingly, the effects were more significant in non-flowering plants than in flowering plants. This was unexpected, as much of the current research on pathogenic bacteria focuses on flowering plants, which include key agricultural crops.
By examining non-flowering species, the study, published in Cell Host and Microbe, contributes to the growing body of evidence showing that bacterial pathogens have the potential to infect a wide range of plants. "Each plant species in our study shares a common ancestor from 500 million years ago, yet a single group of pathogens can infect all of them using similar pathogenic factors," explained Dr. Carella. The findings suggest that pathogen virulence may be more universal across the plant kingdom than previously thought. The researchers hypothesize that P. syringae's virulence is linked to fundamental processes shared by all plants. In this case, the toxin syringomycin likely disrupts cell membranes in various plant species.
Although non-flowering plants are often considered simpler than their flowering relatives, this study emphasizes the importance of studying the entire plant kingdom to understand key mechanisms that could be applied to protect crops from disease. "Even though we don’t consume liverworts, they can offer valuable insights into the core mechanisms of important pathogens," said Dr. Carella.
The next phase of research will focus on understanding the role of the toxin in spreading bacteria and how it interacts with bacterial effector proteins to promote disease. The team will also investigate why some populations of P. syringae lack the toxin and expand their plant species selection to identify those resistant to bacterial infections.
