Polygalacturonases (PGs) of wild-type and non-virulent phenotype conversion mutant (PC) strains of Ralstonia solanacearum were compared by investigating their activities and their inhibition by polygalacturonase-inhibiting proteins (PGIPs) from tomato stems. In cultures of wild-type strain ToUdk2, slimy (s), retarded slimy (rs) and non-slimy (ns) colonies appeared. The conversion of the 's' into the 'rs' colony form coincided with the beginning of PG production. PG activity of the PC strain increased about 5 h earlier (at 6 hpi), and was up to 35 times higher in media supplemented with two different tomato stem extracts or polygalacturonic acid, compared to the wild-type at 6 hpi, and generally 4-8 times higher across test media and time. By hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC), fluorophor-assisted carbohydrate-polyacrylamid-gel electrophoresis (FACE-PAGE) and mass spectrometry analyses, endo-PG PehA, exo-PGs PehB and PehC were identified. PGs of the PC mutant consisted mainly of endo-PG. The increased PG production after supplementing the medium with tomato cell wall extract was reflected by a higher activity of exo-PGs for both strains. Total PGs (endo-PG and exo-PGs) activities were inhibited by PGIPs of tomato stem extracts. PGIP activity was concentration dependent, constitutively present, and not related to resistance nor susceptibility of tomato recombinant inbred lines to R. solanacearum. The proteinaceous character of the inhibiting component was inferred from ammonium sulphate precipitation. For the first time a plant PGIP activity against a bacterial pathogen is reported. Observations support that endo- and exo-PG synthesis is governed by a sensitive regulatory network, which, in interaction with PGIP and cell wall degradation products, leads to generation or avoidance of elicitor-active oligomers, and, thus, may contribute to the development of the compatible or incompatible interaction.
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