Genomic and phenotypic insight into Xanthomonas vesicatoria strains with different aggressiveness on tomato

BIANCO MI; PONSO MA; GARITA-CAMBRONERO J; CONFORTE VP; GALVÁN TE; DUNGER G; MORALES GM; VOJNOV AA; ROMERO AM; CUBERO J; YARYURA PM

Frontiers in microbiology

Frontiers Media SA

Lugar: Lausanne; Año: 2023 vol. 14

1664-302X

Xanthomonas vesicatoria is one of the causal agents of bacterial spot, a diseasethat seriously affects the production of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) andpepper (Capsicum annum) worldwide. In Argentina, bacterial spot is found inall tomato producing areas, with X. vesicatoria being one of the main speciesdetected in the fields. Previously, we isolated three X. vesicatoria strains BNM208, BNM 214, and BNM 216 from tomato plants with bacterial spot, and foundthey differed in their ability to form biofilm and in their degree of aggressiveness.Here, the likely causes of those differences were explored through genotypicand phenotypic studies. The genomes of the three strains were sequenced andassembled, and then compared with each other and also with 12 other publiclyavailable X. vesicatoria genomes. Phenotypic characteristics (mainly linked tobiofilm formation and virulence) were studied in vitro. Our results show that thedifferences observed earlier between BNM 208, BNM 214, and BNM 216 maybe related to the structural characteristics of the xanthan gum produced by eachstrain, their repertoire of type III effectors (T3Es), the presence of certain genesassociated with c-di-GMP metabolism and type IV pili (T4P). These findings onthe pathogenicity mechanisms of X. vesicatoria could be useful for developingbacterial spot control strategies aimed at interfering with the infection processes.