Activation of Ralfuranone/Ralstonin Production by Plant Sugars Functions in the Virulence of Ralstonia solanacearum

ACS Chem Biol. 2019 Jul 19;14(7):1546-1555. doi: 10.1021/acschembio.9b00301. Epub 2019 Jun 27.

Abstract

Plant pathogenic bacteria possess sophisticated mechanisms to detect the presence of host plants by sensing host-derived compounds. Ralstonia solanacearum, the causative agent of bacterial wilt on solanaceous plants, employs quorum sensing to control the production of the secondary metabolite ralfuranones/ralstonins, which have been suggested to be involved in virulence. Here, we report that d-galactose and d-glucose, plant sugars, activate the production of ralfuranones/ralstonins in R. solanacearum. As a result, two new derivatives, ralfuranone M (1) and ralstonin C (2), were found in the culture extracts, and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic and chemical methods. Ralstonin C (2) is a cyclic lipopeptide containing a unique fatty acid, (2S,3S,Z)-3-amino-2-hydroxyicos-13-enoic acid, whereas ralfuranone M (1) has a common aryl-furanone structure with other ralfuranones. d-Galactose and d-glucose activated the expression of the biosynthetic ralfuranone/ralstonin genes and in part became the biosynthetic source of ralfuranones/ralstonins. Ralfuranones and ralstonins were detected from the xylem fluid of the infected tomato plants, and their production-deficient mutants exhibited reduced virulence on tomato and tobacco plants. Taken together, these results suggest that activation of ralfuranone/ralstonin production by host sugars functions in R. solanacearum virulence.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Galactose / metabolism*
  • Glucose / metabolism*
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions
  • Lactones / metabolism*
  • Nicotiana / metabolism
  • Nicotiana / microbiology
  • Plant Diseases / microbiology*
  • Quorum Sensing
  • Ralstonia solanacearum / pathogenicity
  • Ralstonia solanacearum / physiology*
  • Solanaceae / metabolism
  • Solanaceae / microbiology*
  • Solanum lycopersicum / metabolism
  • Solanum lycopersicum / microbiology

Substances

  • Lactones
  • ralfuranone A
  • Glucose
  • Galactose