Profiling Differentially Abundant Proteins by Overexpression of Three Putative Methyltransferases in Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines

Methyltransferases (MTases) are enzymes that modify specific substrates by adding a methyl group using S-adenosyl-l-methionine. Functions of MTases have been extensively studied in eukaryotic organisms and animal pathogenic bacteria. Despite their importance, mechanisms underlying MTase function in plant pathogenic bacteria have not been studied in depth, as is the case of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines (Xag) that causes bacterial pustule disease in soybean crops worldwide. Here, the association between Xag proteome alterations and three MTase-overexpressing strains, Xag(XgMT1), Xag(XgMT2), and Xag(XgMT3), compared to Xag carrying an empty vector, Xag(EV) is reported. Using label-free shotgun comparative proteomic analysis, proteins are identified in all three biological replicates of the four strains and ranged from 1004 to 1082. In comparative analyses, 124, 135, and 134 proteins are differentially changed (over twofold) by overexpression of XgMT1, XgMT2, and XgMT3, respectively. These proteins are also categorized using cluster of orthologous group (COG) analyses, allowing postulation of biological mechanisms associated with three MTases in Xag. COGs reveal that the three MTases may play distinct roles, although some functions may overlap. These results are expected to allow new insight into understanding and predicting the biological functions of MTases in plant pathogenic bacteria. Data are available via ProteomeXchange (Identifier PXD012590).