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Poster

Session: Session 2 Presenting Authors at Posters (Odds)

P-247 - Labor of lov: how a LOV domain protein helps Ralstonia attach, overcome host defenses, and cause bacterial wilt disease

Wednesday, July 16, 2025
13:30 - 15:15  
Location: Confex Hall 3
Nutrient exchange & role of metabolites in plant-microbe interactions

    Presenting Author(s)

  • BO

    Bridget O'Banion

    Postdoctoral Scientist
    Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin
    Madison, Wisconsin, United States

    • Author(s)

  • MC

    Mariama D. Carter

    Postdoctoral Scientist
    Crop Genetics Dept., John Innes Centre
    NORWICH, England, United Kingdom

  • JS

    José Sanchez-Gallego

    Graduate Student
    Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin
    Madison, Wisconsin, United States

  • HL

    Hanlei Li

    Research Intern
    Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin
    Madison, Wisconsin, United States

  • CA

    Caitilyn Allen

    Professor Emeritus
    Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin
    Madison, Wisconsin, United States

  • CH

    Corri Hamilton

    Asst. Professor
    University of Missouri
    Columbia, Missouri, United States

Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum (Rps), a soil-borne plant pathogen that causes bacterial wilt, encodes a conserved LOV (light, oxygen, voltage) domain-containing protein. While LOV proteins are photosensors for many organisms exposed to light, the role of LOV in soil-dwelling bacteria is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that Rps LOV, which contains multiple signaling domains, responds to plant-induced stress. We compared transcriptomes and metabolomes of the model strain Rps GMI1000 (wild-type and ∆lov) during infection of wilt-susceptible and -resistant tomato plants. This design naturally exposed Rps to two varying levels of plant-induced stress, as the quantitatively resistant line (Hawaii 7996) is known to produce more reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antimicrobial toxins. The resulting datasets suggested functional experiments that defined several light-independent roles for Rps LOV. These roles include modulating metabolism of sap-relevant nutrients, biofilm formation, and tolerance of ROS and host phenolic compounds. During interactions with the plant host, LOV is required for normal root attachment, stem colonization, and ultimately, bacterial wilt virulence. Certain phenotypes, including biofilm formation, were triggered only in the presence of tomato xylem sap, suggesting LOV acts in response to a plant-derived signal(s). Together, these results establish LOV as one of the many sensors that enable Rps to thrive and cause disease in the dynamic host environment.