Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Life Sciences

Major Professor

Jennifer L. Morrell-Falvey

Committee Members

Gladys M. Alexandre, Dale A. Pelletier, Albrecht von Arnim

Abstract

The colonization of plant roots by bacteria found in rhizosphere can help plants adapt to stresses. Colonization is facilitated by a rhizobacteria’s ability to recognize and move towards a plant root, frequently using chemotaxis. This study examines the chemotactic response of the rhizobacteria Pantoea sp. YR343 towards metabolites known to be produced by the roots of poplar trees: glucose, sucrose, salicin, myoinositol, citric acid, succinic acid, malic acid, glycerol, and amino acids (serine). Identifying which compounds Pantoea sp. YR343 is chemotactic towards is important to understanding the establishment of the plant-microbe interface. Chemotaxis was characterized by methods such as soft motility assays, capillary assays, 2D videos, and Digital Holographic Microscopy. The chemotactic activity of a transposon mutant of the methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein (MCP) PMI39_02190 was also compared to the wildtype strain. From these experiments, it was found that the wildtype strain is chemotactic towards malic acid and myoinositol while PMI39_02190 may be chemotactic towards malic acid. These results continue to inform how the bacteria recognize and establish a relationship with plants, using Pantoea sp. YR343 and Populus deltoides as models.

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