Stability of a Pseudomonas putida KT2440 Bacteriophage-Carried Genomic Island and Its Impact on Rhizosphere Fitness

The stability of seven genomic islands of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 with predicted potential for mobilization was studied in bacterial populations associated with the rhizosphere of corn plants by multiplex PCR. DNA rearrangements were detected for only one of them (GI28), which was lost at high frequency. This genomic island of 39.4 kb, with 53 open reading frames, shows the characteristic organization of genes belonging to tailed phages. We present evidence indicating that it corresponds to the lysogenic state of a functional bacteriophage that we have designated Pspu28. Integrated and rarely excised forms of Pspu28 coexist in KT2440 populations. Pspu28 is self-transmissible, and an excisionase is essential for its removal from the bacterial chromosome. The excised Pspu28 forms a circular element that can integrate into the chromosome at a specific location, att sites containing a 17-bp direct repeat sequence. Excision/insertion of Pspu28 alters the promoter sequence and changes the expression level of PP_1531, which encodes a predicted arsenate reductase. Finally, we show that the presence of Pspu28 in the lysogenic state has a negative effect on bacterial fitness in the rhizosphere under conditions of intraspecific competition, thus explaining why clones having lost this mobile element are recovered from that environment.