Pseudomonas savastanoi Two-Component System RhpRS Switches between Virulence and Metabolism by Tuning Phosphorylation State and Sensing Nutritional Conditions

Pseudomonas savastanoi uses a type III secretion system (T3SS) to invade host plants. Our previous studies have demonstrated that a two-component system (TCS), RhpRS, enables P. savastanoi to coordinate the T3SS gene expression, which depends on the phosphorylation state of RhpR under different environmental conditions. Orthologues of RhpRS are distributed in a wide range of bacterial species, indicating a general regulatory mechanism. How RhpRS uses external signals and the phosphorylation state to exercise its regulatory functions remains unknown. We performed chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) assays to identify the specific binding sites of RhpR and RhpR(D70A) in either King’s B medium (KB [a T3SS-inhibiting medium]) or minimal medium (MM [a T3SS-inducing medium]). We identified 125 KB-dependent binding sites and 188 phosphorylation-dependent binding sites of RhpR. In KB, RhpR directly and positively regulated cytochrome c(550) production (via ccmA) and alcohol dehydrogenase activity (via adhB) but negatively regulated anthranilate synthase activity (via trpG) and protease activity (via hemB). In addition, phosphorylated RhpR (RhpR-P) directly and negatively regulated the T3SS (via hrpR and hopR1), swimming motility (via flhA), c-di-GMP levels (via PSPPH_2590), and biofilm formation (via algD). It positively regulated twitching motility (via fimA) and lipopolysaccharide production (via PSPPH_2653). Our transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) analyses identified 474 and 840 new genes that were regulated by RhpR in KB and MM, respectively. We showed nutrient-rich conditions allowed RhpR to directly regulate multiple metabolic pathways of P. savastanoi and phosphorylation enabled RhpR to specifically control virulence and the cell envelope. The action of RhpRS switched between virulence and regulation of multiple metabolic pathways by tuning its phosphorylation and sensing environmental signals in KB, respectively.