EVIDENCE THAT THE PSEUDOMONAS-SYRINGAE PV SYRINGAE HRP-LINKED HRMA GENE ENCODES AN AVR-LIKE PROTEIN THAT ACTS IN AN HRP-DEPENDENT MANNER WITHIN TOBACCO CELLS

A 25-kb DNA region, previously cloned from Pseudomonas syringae pv. sy ringae 61 in cosmid pHIR11, enables nonpathogenic bacteria such as Pse udomonas fluorescens and Escherichia coli to elicit the hypersensitive response (HR) in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). hrmA is located within this region, adjacent to a conserved cluster of hrp genes, and is esse ntial for nonpathogens to elicit the HR. DNA sequence analysis suggest ed that hrmA was the second of two genes in an operon and was preceded by an open reading frame (ORF), ORF1, which is predicted to encode a 10.9-kDa protein. DNA gel blot analysis revealed that sequences hybrid izing with a DNA fragment internal To hrmA were absent from P. syringa e pv. syringae B728a, P. syringae pv. tabaci 11528, and P. syringae pv . glycinea race 4 U1, but present in P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000. A 2.4-kb BamHI-AvrII fragment carrying hrmA, ORF1, and native regulatory sequences was subcloned into broad-host-range vector pDSK519 and elec troporated into P. syringae pv. syringae B728a and P. syringae pv. tab aci 11528. The presence of the hrmA locus had no apparent effect on th e ability of P. syringae pv. syringae B728a to cause brown spot of bea n, but it caused P. syringae pv. tabaci 11528 to elicit the defense-as sociated HR rather than disease in N. tabacum cvs. Xanthi N and Xanthi NC and N. clevelandii. Furthermore, N. debeyii, N. glutinosa, N. rust ica, and N. tabacum cvs. Petit Havana and Samsun responded with the HR to P. fluorescens (pHIR11). In contrast, N. benthamiana-P. syringae p v. tabaci interactions were unaffected by the presence of HrmA, and P. fluorescens (pHIR11) did not elicit the HR in N. benthamiana. The hrm A ORF was subcloned into pFLAG-CTC, which expressed HrmA with a C-term inal FLAG synthetic epitope fusion. Escherichia coli MC4100 cells carr ying the functional hrp cluster and the hrmA-FLAG derivative secreted the HrpZ harpin, but not HrmA-FLAG, to the medium, as indicated by imm unoblot analysis with M2 anti-FLAG and polyclonal anti-HrpZ antibodies . The hrmA ORF was also subcloned into plant expression vector pFF19 a nd then biolistically delivered, along with pFF19G (expressing beta-gl ucuronidase), into suspension-cultured tobacco cells, Histochemical st aining 24 h later revealed substantial beta-glucuronidase activity in cells receiving pFF19G and pFF19 but not in those receiving pFF19G and pFF19-HrmA, Thus, internal production of HrmA was deleterious to toba cco cells.