The RND efflux system ParXY affects siderophore secretion in Pseudomonas putida KT2440

Tripartite efflux systems transport antimicrobial agents, toxic metabolites, and siderophores from Gram-negative cells into the environment. For example, the main siderophore pyoverdine of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440 is secreted into the environment via the PvdRT-OpmQ and MdtABC-OpmB systems. Here, we looked for efflux systems that might be involved in the secretion of pyoverdine in addition to the latter two systems. Screening of different efflux systems revealed that parX (encoding the periplasmic adapter protein of the ParXY system) is of particular importance for bacterial growth under iron limitation. Further analysis showed that the deletion of parX impairs the production and secretion of pyoverdine, causing the observed growth effect. The effects were dependent on the presence of other tripartite efflux systems and the conditions of iron limitation. The results suggest that ParXY not only plays a role in antibiotic resistance, as shown previously, but also influences the secretion of siderophores in a network of overlapping activities of different tripartite efflux systems.IMPORTANCE Gram-negative bacteria from the Pseudomonas group are survivors in various environmental niches. For example, the bacteria secrete siderophores to capture ferric ions under deficiency conditions. Tripartite efflux systems are involved in the secretion of siderophores, which are also important for antibiotic resistance. For one of these efflux systems, the resistance-nodulation-cell division transporter ParXY from the model organism Pseudomonas putida KT2440, we show that it influences the secretion of the siderophore pyoverdine in addition to its already known involvement in antibiotic resistance. Phenotypically, its role in pyoverdine secretion is only apparent when other pyoverdine secretion systems are inactive. The results confirm that the different tripartite efflux systems have overlapping substrate specificities and can at least partially functionally substitute for each other, especially in important physiological activities such as supplying the cell with iron ions. This fact must be taken into account when developing specific inhibitors for tripartite efflux systems.