Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri and Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni: Comparative analysis of two pathogens producing similar symptoms in different host plants

PLoS One. 2019 Jul 18;14(7):e0219797. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219797. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Comparative studies in Xanthomonas have provided a vast amount of data that enabled to deepen in the knowledge of those factors associated with virulence and Xanthomonas plant interaction. The species of this genus present a wide range of host plants and a large number of studies have been focused to elucidate which mechanism are involved in this characteristic. In this study, comparative genomic and phenotypic analysis were performed between X. citri subsp. citri (Xcc), one of the most studied pathogens within Xanthomonas, and X. arboricola pv. pruni (Xap), a pathogen which has aroused great interest in recent time. The work was aimed to find those elements that contribute to their host divergence despite the convergence in the symptoms that each species cause on Citrus spp. and Prunus spp., respectively. This study reveals a set of genes that could be putatively associated with the adaptation of these pathogens to their hosts, being the most remarkable those involved in environmental sensing systems such as the case of the TonB-dependent transporters, the sensors of the two-component system and the methyl accepting chemotaxis proteins. Other important variants were found in processes related to the decomposition of the cell wall as could be appreciated by their dissimilar set of cell-wall degrading enzymes. Type three effectors, as one of the most important factors in delineating the host specificity in Xanthomonas, also showed a different array when comparing both species, being some of them unique to each pathogen. On the other hand, only small variations could be connected to other features such as the motility appendages and surface adhesion proteins, but these differences were accompanied by a dissimilar capacity to attach on host and non-host leaf surface. The molecular factors found in this work provide the basis to perform a more in-depth functional analyses that unveil those actual factors associated with pathogenesis and host specificity in Xcc and Xap.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Base Sequence
  • Biofilms
  • Genome, Bacterial
  • Genomics
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions*
  • Microbial Viability
  • Multigene Family
  • Phylogeny
  • Plant Diseases / microbiology*
  • Virulence / genetics
  • Xanthomonas / genetics
  • Xanthomonas / physiology*
  • Xanthomonas / ultrastructure

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins

Grants and funding

Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA) Ministerio de Ciencia Innovación y Universidades, project RTA2014-00018-C02-01 cofinanced by FEDER.