Global gene expression analysis of the heat shock response in the phytopathogen Xylella fastidiosa

Xylella fastidiosa is a phytopathogenic bacterium responsible for diseases in many economically important crops. Although different strains have been studied, little is known about X. fastidiosa stress responses. One of the best characterized stresses in bacteria is the heat shock response, which induces the expression of specific genes to prevent protein misfolding and aggregation, and to promote degradation of the irreversibly denatured polypeptides. To investigate X. fastidiosa genes involved in the heat shock response, we performed a whole genome microarray analysis in a time-course experiment. Globally, 261 genes were induced (9.7%) and 222 genes were repressed (8.3%). The expression profiles of the differentially expressed genes were grouped and their expression patterns were validated by quantitative RT-PCR experiments. As expected, genes that presented the higher induction rates encoded chaperones and proteases. We determined the transcription start site of six heat shock inducible genes and analyzed their promoter regions, which allowed us to propose a putative consensus for 32 promoters in Xylella and suggest additional genes as putative members of this regulon. Besides the induction of classical heat shock protein genes, we observed the up-regulation of virulence-associated genes such as vapD, hemagglutinins, hemolysin and xylan degrading enzymes, which may indicate the importance of heat stress to bacterial pathogenesis. In addition, we observed the repression of genes related to fimbriae, aerobic respiration, protein biosynthesis, and the induction of genes related to the extracytoplasmic stress response and some phage-related genes, revealing the complex network of genes that work together in response to heat shock. Keywords: stress response; heat shock response Direct comparison between heat-shock condition and control (29oC) condition. Some hybridizations are dye-swaped. There are at least 3 biological replicates (independent harvest) and 2 technical replicates of each array (L - left and R - right).