Multiple Copies offlhDCin Paraburkholderia unamae Regulate Flagellar Gene Expression, Motility, and Biofilm Formation

Abstract

FlhDC is a heterohexameric complex that acts as a master regulator of flagellar biosynthesis genes in numerous bacteria. Previous studies have identified a single flhDC operon encoding this complex. However, we found that two flhDC loci are present throughout Paraburkholderia and two additional flhC copies also present in P. unamae. Systematic deletion analysis in P. unamae of the different flhDC copies showed that one of the operons, flhDC1 , plays the predominant role, with deletion of its genes resulting in a severe inhibition of motility and biofilm formation. Expression analysis using promoter- lacZ fusions and real-time quantitative PCR support the primary role of flhDC1 in flagellar gene regulation, with flhDC2 a secondary contributor. Phylogenetic analysis shows the presence of the flhDC1 and flhDC2 operons throughout Paraburkholderia . In contrast, Burkholderia and other bacteria only carry the copy syntenous with flhDC2 . The varying impact each copy of flhDC has on downstream processes indicates that regulation of FlhDC in P. unamae, and likely other Paraburkholderia, is regulated at least in part by the presence of multiple copies of these genes. IMPORTANCE Motility is important in the colonization of plant roots by beneficial and pathogenic bacteria, with flagella playing essential roles in host cell adhesion, entrance, and biofilm formation. Flagellar biosynthesis is energetically expensive. Its complex regulation by the FlhDC master regulator is well-studied in peritrichous flagella expressing enterics. We report the unique presence throughout Paraburkholderia of multiple copies of flhDC . In P. unamae , the flhDC1 copy showed higher expression and greater effect on swim motility, flagellar development, and regulation of downstream genes, than the flhDC2 copy that is syntenous to flhDC in E. coli and pathogenic Burkholderia spp. The flhDC genes have evolved differently in these plant-growth promoting bacteria, giving an additional layer of complexity in gene regulation by FlhDC.

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“…Products encoded by the flhC and flfD genes constitute the FlhD4-FlhC2 heterohexameric structure transcription activator protein. The flhDC of the pili master regulator can be assessed by detecting the expression levels of flhC and flfD ( Wang et al., 2006 ; Li et al., 2021 ; Thai et al., 2021 ). Swarming motility is a flagella-dependent form of bacterial motility that facilitates bacterial migration on viscous substrates.…”