Stability of pUC-derived plasmids with a fluorescence marker in Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum and subsp. betavasculorum

The stability of three different kinds of pUC-derived plasmids, pDsRed, pZsYellow, and pGFPuv, was investigated in Pectobacterium strains to utilize those plasmids as tracers. All three plasmids pDsRed, pZs Yellow and pGFPuv showed their specific colors in Pectobacterium strains. Especially, the plasmid pDsRed conferred bright pink colonies on the Pectobacterium strains. When the bacteria lost the plasmid pDsRed, the colonies turned white, suggesting that the plasmid could be a good marker system for Pectobacterium strains on different environmental conditions. The effect of the antibiotic pressure on the stability of the plasmid was different depending on the host bacteria. P. carotovorum subsp. betavasculorum was more sensitive to the antibiotic pressure than P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum Pcc21. However, temperature change significantly affected plasmid stability on both Pectobacterium strains. Almost all strains lost the plasmids with the shift in temperature from 28 °C to 37 °C. Presence of the plasmids did not affect bacterial pathogenicity on their own host plants. Among three plasmids, pZs Yellow was not useful as a marker because the yellow fluorescent proteins from pZs Yellow were interfered with the yellow natural fluorescence of the plant tissues induced by the defense system. Since the red color of DsRed can be seen with naked eyes, plasmid pDsRed was applicable as a marker. However, the color change was slow so that additional manipulation to increase the expression speed was necessary. Plasmid pGFPuv could serve as a perfect marker without any problem, tracing the reproduction and spread of the plant pathogens perfectly.