OpnS, an Outer Membrane Porin of Xenorhabdus nematophila , Confers a Competitive Advantage for Growth in the Insect Host

Abstract

ABSTRACT The gammaproteobacterium Xenorhabdus nematophila engages in a mutualistic association with an entomopathogenic nematode and also functions as a pathogen toward different insect hosts. We studied the role of the growth-phase-regulated outer membrane protein OpnS in host interactions. OpnS was shown to be a 16-stranded β-barrel porin. opnS was expressed during growth in insect hemolymph and expression was elevated as the cell density increased. When wild-type and opnS deletion strains were coinjected into insects, the wild-type strain was predominantly recovered from the insect cadaver. Similarly, an opnS -complemented strain outcompeted the Δ opnS strain. Coinjection of the wild-type and Δ opnS strains together with uncolonized nematodes into insects resulted in nematode progeny that were almost exclusively colonized with the wild-type strain. Likewise, nematode progeny recovered after coinjection of a mixture of nematodes carrying either the wild-type or Δ opnS strain were colonized by the wild-type strain. In addition, the Δ opnS strain displayed a competitive growth defect when grown together with the wild-type strain in insect hemolymph but not in defined culture medium. The Δ opnS strain displayed increased sensitivity to antimicrobial compounds, suggesting that deletion of OpnS affected the integrity of the outer membrane. These findings show that the OpnS porin confers a competitive advantage for the growth and/or the survival of X. nematophila in the insect host and provides a new model for studying the biological relevance of differential regulation of porins in a natural host environment.