Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis is a Gram-positive bacterium that causes wilting and cankers, leading to severe economic losses in commercial tomato production worldwide. The disease is transmitted from infected seeds to seedlings and mechanically from plant to plant during seedling production, grafting, pruning, and harvesting. Because of the lack of tools for genetic manipulation, very little is known regarding the mechanisms of seed and seedling infection and movement of C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis in grafted plants, two focal points for application of bacterial canker control measures in tomato. To facilitate studies on the C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis movement in tomato seed and grafted plants, we isolated a bioluminescent C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis strain using the modified Tn1409 containing a promoterless lux reporter. A total of 19 bioluminescent C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis mutants were obtained. All mutants tested induced a hypersensitive response in Mirabilis jalapa and caused wilting of tomato plants. Real-time colonization studies of germinating seeds using a virulent, stable, constitutively bioluminescent strain, BL-Cmm17, showed that C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis aggregated on hypocotyls and cotyledons at an early stage of germination. In grafted seedlings in which either the rootstock or scion was exposed to BL-Cmm17 via a contaminated grafting knife, bacteria were translocated in both directions from the graft union at higher inoculum doses. These results emphasize the use of bioluminescent C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis to help better elucidate the C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis-tomato plant interactions. Further, we demonstrated the broader applicability of this tool by successful transformation of C. michiganensis subsp. nebraskensis with Tn1409::lux. Thus, our approach would be highly useful to understand the pathogenesis of diseases caused by other subspecies of the agriculturally important C. michiganensis.

Campylobacter is a leading cause of foodborne bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide and infections can be fatal. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter spp. necessitates the development of new antimicrobials. We identified novel anti-Campylobacter small molecule inhibitors using a high throughput growth inhibition assay. To expedite screening, we made use of a “bioactive” library of 4182 compounds that we have previously shown to be active against diverse microbes. Screening for growth inhibition of Campylobacter jejuni, identified 781 compounds that were either bactericidal or bacteriostatic at a concentration of 200 μM. Seventy nine of the bactericidal compounds were prioritized for secondary screening based on their physico-chemical properties. Based on the minimum inhibitory concentration against a diverse range of C. jejuni and a lack of effect on gut microbes, we selected 12 compounds. No resistance was observed to any of these 12 lead compounds when C. jejuni was cultured with lethal or sub-lethal concentrations suggesting that C. jejuni is less likely to develop resistance to these compounds. Top 12 compounds also possessed low cytotoxicity to human intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2 cells) and no hemolytic activity against sheep red blood cells. Next, these 12 compounds were evaluated for ability to clear C. jejuni in vitro. A total of 10 compounds had an anti-C. jejuni effect in Caco-2 cells with some effective even at 25 μM concentrations. These novel 12 compounds belong to five established antimicrobial chemical classes; piperazines, aryl amines, piperidines, sulfonamide, and pyridazinone. Exploitation of analogs of these chemical classes may provide Campylobacter specific drugs that can be applied in both human and animal medicine.

The soilborne pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum is the causal agent of bacterial wilt (BW), a major disease of pepper (Capsicum annuum). The genetic basis of resistance to this disease in pepper is not well known. This study aimed to identify BW resistance markers in pepper. Analysis of the dynamics of bioluminescent R. solanacearum colonization in reciprocal grafts of a resistant (BVRC 1) line and a susceptible (BVRC 25) line revealed that the resistant rootstock effectively suppressed the spreading of bacteria into the scion. The two clear-cut phenotypic distributions of the disease severity index in 440 F2 plants derived from BVRC 25 × BVRC 1 indicated that a major genetic factor as well as a few minor factors that control BW resistance. By specific-locus amplified fragment sequencing combined with bulked segregant analysis, two adjacent resistance-associated regions on chromosome 10 were identified. Quantitative trait (QTL) mapping revealed that these two regions belong to a single QTL, qRRs-10.1. The marker ID10-194305124, which reached a maximum log-likelihood value at 9.79 and accounted for 19.01% of the phenotypic variation, was located the closest to the QTL peak. A cluster of five predicted R genes and three defense-related genes, which are located in close proximity to the significant markers ID10-194305124 or ID10-196208712, are important candidate genes that may confer BW resistance in pepper.

Bacterial wilt, incited by Ralstonia solanacearum, is a major disease affecting pepper (Capsicum annuum) production worldwide. The most effective management tactic is the deployment of wilt-resistant varieties. However, the lack of a nondestructive method to measure invasiveness and spatio-temporal distribution of R. solanacearum, a vascular pathogen, in planta limits better understanding of pepper resistance and plant-pathogen interactions. We evaluated the resistance of 100 pepper lines using R. solanacearum strain Rs-SY1 (phylotype I, isolated from a sweet pepper in South China). Based on the disease severity index (DSI) values, the elite inbred line BVRC 1 and the small-fruited accessions PI 640435 and PI 640444 were identified as resistant (DSI: 1.2, 1.8, and 1.9 out of 4.0, respectively). In order to evaluate bacterial infection dynamics in planta in real time, we generated seven bioluminescent R. solanacearum strains (BL-Rs1 to BL-Rs7) using vector pXX3 carrying luxCDABE genes, and selected BL-Rs7 for inoculation due to its similarity with parent strain Rs-SY1 in morphology, pathogenicity, and highest light emission in vitro. Luminescence intensity was strongly correlated to bacterial population in planta (R2 = 0.88). The utility of the bioluminescence assay was validated by comparing R. solanacearum infection dynamics in real-time in vivo between resistant line BVRC 1 and susceptible line BVRC 25. The distribution and multiplication of BL-Rs7 strain in resistant line BVRC 1 was conspicuously limited in plants inoculated in either roots or stem compared with susceptible line BVRC 25. These results suggest that pepper line BVRC 1 may resist colonization by interfering with R. solanacearum multiplication in the roots and stem.

Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (Cmm) is a Gram-positive seed-transmitted bacterial phytopathogen responsible for substantial economic losses by adversely affecting tomato production worldwide. A high-throughput, cell-based screen was adapted to identify novel small molecule growth inhibitors to serve as leads for future bactericide development. A library of 4,182 compounds known to be bioactive against Saccharomyces cerevisiae was selected for primary screening against Cmm wild-type strain C290 for whole-cell growth inhibition. Four hundred sixty-eight molecules (11.2% hit rate) were identified as bacteriocidal or bacteriostatic against Cmm at 200 μM. Seventy-seven candidates were selected based on Golden Triangle analyses for secondary screening. Secondary screens showed that several of these candidates were strain-selective. Several compounds were inhibitory to multiple Cmm strains as well as Bacillus subtilis, but not to Pseudomonas fluorescens, Mitsuaria sp., Lysobacter enzymogenes, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium animalis, or Escherichia coli. Most of the compounds were not phytotoxic and did not show overt host toxicity. Using a novel 96-well bioluminescent Cmm seedling infection assay, we assessed effects of selected compounds on pathogen infection. The 12 most potent novel molecules were identified by compiling the scores from all secondary screens combined with the reduction of pathogen infection in planta. When tested for ability to develop resistance to the top-12 compounds, no resistant Cmm were recovered, suggesting that the discovered compounds are unlikely to induce resistance. In conclusion, here we report top-12 compounds that provide chemical scaffolds for future Cmm-specific bactericide development.

This paper investigates the stopband of laminate acoustic metamaterials, which is composed of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) and a periodic array of mass-spring-damper subsystems integrated with the laminates to act as vibration absorbers. Based on the mathematical model derived in this work, a wide stopband is observed by dispersion analysis. The frequency response analysis is performed to confirm its stopband behavior for a finite laminate acoustic metamaterial. Due to the superior strength to weight ratio of CFRP, the laminate acoustic metamaterials are able to have a much wider stopband than the conventional metamaterial plates proposed in recent years. In addition, the effects of the relevant parameters on the stopband of laminate acoustic metamaterial are discussed in this work. The excellent performance of laminate acoustic metamaterials has been applied to design the vehicle door, and the vibration of the vehicle door is suppressed significantly.

This paper designs the laminate acoustic metamaterials with multi-stopband for structuralacoustic coupled system. The laminate acoustic metamaterials are composed of carbon-fiberreinforced polymer (CFRP) and a periodic array of two degrees of freedom (2-DOF) massspring-damper subsystems attached to the laminate. According to the dispersion analysis, two stopbands are observed around the absorbers' resonant frequency. Based on the finite element modeling, the multi-stopband behavior has been confirmed. In addition, the effects of damping of vibration absorbers are discussed in this work. By adding the appropriate damping to the vibration absorbers, the two stop bands can be combined into a wider stopband. Subsequently, the analyses of multi-stopband laminate acoustic metamaterials in the structural-acoustic coupled system are performed. The excellent performance of multi-stopband laminate acoustic metamaterials has been applied to the front panel of vehicle, and the noise of passenger compartment cavity is reduced significantly.

Tomato bacterial canker, caused by Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis, is transmitted by infected or infested seed and mechanically from plant to plant. Wounds occurring during seedling production and crop maintenance facilitate the dissemination of the pathogen. However, the effects of environmental factors on C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis translocation and growth as an endophyte have not been fully elucidated. A virulent, stable, constitutively bioluminescent C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis strain BL-Cmm 17 coupled with an in vivo imaging system allowed visualization of the C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis colonization process in tomato seedlings in real time. The dynamics of bacterial infection in seedlings through wounds were compared under low (45%) and high (83%) relative humidity. Bacteria multiplied rapidly in cotyledon petioles remaining after clip inoculation and moved in the stem toward both root and shoot. Luminescent signals were also observed in tomato seedling roots over time, and root development was reduced in inoculated plants maintained under both humidity regimes. Wilting was more severe in seedlings under high-humidity regimes. A strong positive correlation between light intensity and bacterial population in planta suggests that bioluminescent C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis strains will be useful in evaluating the efficacy of bactericides and host resistance.