Proteome Investigation of the Plant Pathogen Erwinia amylovora

Abstract

Previous research has led to the conclusion that particular strains of Erwinia amylovora show differences in their pathogenic ability. Because no remarkable differences were found on the genomic level, this research focuses on the proteome. For this investigation two strains of E. amylovora with a difference in pathogenicity were considered, a high pathogenic (PFB5) and a low pathogenic (LMG 2024) one. The goal was to find out which proteins are responsible for the differences in virulence between these two strains and to discover the mechanisms that help the more virulent strains to be more effective in spreading within the host. The defense and repair mechanisms E. amylovora uses after being exposed to reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by the host as a defense mechanism, were also investigated. In this part of the study, the proteome of the two strains was studied under in vitro conditions. The two strains were grown in a minimal medium and the complete proteome was extracted. A 2D differential in-gel electrophoresis (DIGE) approach has been used. The differentially regulated protein spots were excised, digested with trypsin and identified. 59 spots were up-regulated in LMG 2024 in comparison with PFB5 and 35 proteins were expressed at higher levels in PFB5 in comparison with LMG 2024.