Genome information of Methylobacterium oryzae, a plant-probiotic methylotroph in the phyllosphere

PLoS One. 2014 Sep 11;9(9):e106704. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0106704. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Pink-pigmented facultative methylotrophs in the Rhizobiales are widespread in the environment, and many Methylobacterium species associated with plants produce plant growth-promoting substances. To gain insights into the life style at the phyllosphere and the genetic bases of plant growth promotion, we determined and analyzed the complete genome sequence of Methylobacterium oryzae CBMB20T, a strain isolated from rice stem. The genome consists of a 6.29-Mb chromosome and four plasmids, designated as pMOC1 to pMOC4. Among the 6,274 coding sequences in the chromosome, the bacterium has, besides most of the genes for the central metabolism, all of the essential genes for the assimilation and dissimilation of methanol that are either located in methylotrophy islands or dispersed. M. oryzae is equipped with several kinds of genes for adaptation to plant surfaces such as defense against UV radiation, oxidative stress, desiccation, or nutrient deficiency, as well as high proportion of genes related to motility and signaling. Moreover, it has an array of genes involved in metabolic pathways that may contribute to promotion of plant growth; they include auxin biosynthesis, cytokine biosynthesis, vitamin B12 biosynthesis, urea metabolism, biosorption of heavy metals or decrease of metal toxicity, pyrroloquinoline quinone biosynthesis, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deamination, phosphate solubilization, and thiosulfate oxidation. Through the genome analysis of M. oryzae, we provide information on the full gene complement of M. oryzae that resides in the aerial parts of plants and enhances plant growth. The plant-associated lifestyle of M. oryzae pertaining to methylotrophy and plant growth promotion, and its potential as a candidate for a bioinoculant targeted to the phyllosphere and focused on phytostimulation are illuminated.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Chromosomes / genetics
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • Genome, Bacterial*
  • Methylobacterium / genetics*
  • Molecular Sequence Annotation*
  • Oxidative Stress
  • Phylogeny
  • Plant Stems
  • Probiotics
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA*

Substances

  • DNA, Bacterial

Grants and funding

The authors are grateful for the financial assistance from the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology through the 21st Century Frontier R&D Program of Microbial Genomics and Applications Center, the Rural Development Administration through the Next-Generation BioGreen 21 Program (PJ008201012012), and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2011-0017670). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.