Abstract
Soft rot Enterobacteria in the genera Pectobacterium and Dickeya cause rotting of many crop plants. A new Dickeya isolate has been suggested to form a separate species, given the name Dickeya solani. This bacterium is spreading fast and replacing the closely related, but less virulent, potato pathogens. The genome of D. solani isolate D s0432-1 shows highest similarity at the nucleotide level and in synteny to D. dadantii strain 3937, but it also contains three large polyketide/fatty acid/non-ribosomal peptide synthetase clusters that are not present in D. dadantii 3937. These gene clusters may be involved in the production of toxic secondary metabolites, such as oocydin and zeamine. Furthermore, the D. solani genome harbors several specific genes that are not present in other Dickeya and Pectobacterium species and that may confer advantages for adaptation to new environments. In conclusion, the fast spreading of D. solani may be related to the acquisition of new properties that affect its interaction with plants and other microbes in the potato ecosystem.
Highlights
The genus Dickeya contains several species of Gram-negative, opportunistic, pectinolytic plant pathogenic bacteria
The second genomic area of missing sequence resulted in two open reading frames (ORFs) (2196 and 2197) and the third was within one gene
Comparison of the ORFs present in D. solani and other Dickeya strains revealed that D. solani harbors a unique combination of large gene clusters possibly involved in the production and secretion of toxic secondary metabolites
Summary
The genus Dickeya contains several species of Gram-negative, opportunistic, pectinolytic plant pathogenic bacteria This genus derives from the reclassification of Pectobacterium chrysanthemi (synonym Erwinia chrysanthemi) [1] into six new genomic species: D. chrysanthemi, D. paradisiaca, D. dadantii, D. dianthicola, D. dieffenbachiae and D. zeae [2]. Similar Dickeya strains were identified after 2005 from symptomatic plants in several European countries [6], in Israel [7] and in Georgia [8]. The new pathogen has replaced other Dickeya strains and Pectobacterium species previously dominant in infected plants, and it appears to be highly aggressive, especially in hot climate conditions, raising implications for the increased importance of this pathogen in response to global warming [12]. The analysis of the D. solani genome content highlighted the mosaic structure of this pathogen and revealed open reading frames (ORFs) possibly involved in virulence and the production of toxic compounds
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