Hybrid Histidine Kinase WelA of Sphingomonas sp. WG Contributes to WL Gum Biosynthesis and Motility

Sphingomonas sp. WG produced WL gum with commercial utility potential in many industries. A hybrid sensor histidine kinase/response regulator WelA was identified to regulate the WL gum biosynthesis, and its function was evaluated by gene deletion strategy. The WL gum production and broth viscosity of mutant ΔwelA was only 44% and 0.6% of wild type strain at 72 h. The transcriptomic analysis of differentially expressed genes showed that WelA was mapped to CckA; ChpT, and CtrA in the CckA-ChpT-CtrA pathway was up-regulated. One phosphodiesterase was up-regulated by CtrA, and the intracellular c-di-GMP was decreased. Most genes involved in WL gum biosynthesis pathway was not significantly changed in ΔwelA except the up-regulated atrB and atrD and the down-regulated pmm. Furthermore, the up-regulated regulators ctrA, flaEY, flbD, and flaF may participate in the regulation of flagellar biogenesis and influenced motility. These results suggested that CckA-ChpT-CtrA pathway and c-di-GMP were involved in WL gum biosynthesis regulation. This work provides useful information on the understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying WL gum biosynthesis regulation.