Molecular Plant Pathology

Pathogen Profiles - bacteria

This virtual issue of Molecular Plant Pathology contains Pathogen Profiles of plant pathogenic bacteria. Each review contains a brief summary, which can include pathogen taxonomy, life cycle and host range. Disease symptoms and strategies for disease management may also be presented. Useful websites are often listed here. Each review then goes on to discuss the particular pathogen in detail, presenting the latest research and strategies for future work.

Plant pathogenic bacteria have a major impact on agriculture. They cause plant damage and disease in a variety of ways. Some bacteria produce enzymes that degrade plant cell walls causing the tissues to collapse and rot. Some produce toxins, and others proteins that resemble phytohormones which cause plant distortion. In some cases the initial damage enables other pathogens such as fungi to invade. Other bacteria produce large amounts of polysaccharide sugars. These clog up the xylem vessels preventing water uptake, causing plant death.

A large group of plant pathogenic bacteria produce effector proteins that suppress the plant’s defence responses. Often referred to as an ‘arms race’, this endless battle between bacteria and plant host is an extremely interesting and active area of scientific research.

These Pathogen Profiles set out our understanding of plant pathogenic bacteria in a clear and accessible way. They are ideal for research or teaching purposes.

Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae: a re-emerging, multi-faceted, pandemic pathogen
Marco Scortichini, Simone Marcelletti, Patrizia Ferrante, Milena Petriccione and Giuseppe Firrao

Acidovorax citrulli: generating basic and applied knowledge to tackle a global threat to the cucurbit industry
Saul Burdman and Ron Walcott

Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi: some like it knot
Cayo Ramos, Isabel M. Matas, Leire Bardaji, Isabel M. Aragón and Jesús Murillo

Burkholderia glumae: next major pathogen of rice?
Jong Hyun Ham, Rebecca A. Melanson and Milton C. Rush

Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola: from ‘has bean’ to supermodel
Dawn L. Arnold, Helen C. Lovell, Robert W. Jackson and John W. Mansfield

Pantoea stewartii subsp. stewartii: lessons learned from a xylem-dwelling pathogen of sweet corn
M. Caroline Roper

From host recognition to T-DNA integration: the function of bacterial and plant genes in the Agrobacterium–plant cell interaction
Tzvi Tzfira and Vitaly Citovsky

Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato: the right pathogen, of the right plant, at the right time
Gail M. Preston

Erwinia amylovora: the molecular basis of fireblight disease
Julie A. Eastgate

Xanthomonas albilineans and the antipathogenesis approach to disease control
Robert G. Birch

Ralstonia solanacearum: secrets of a major pathogen unveiled by analysis of its genome
Stéphane Genin and Christian Boucher

Soft rot erwiniae: from genes to genomes
Ian K. Toth, Kenneth S. Bell, Maria C. Holeva and Paul R. J. Birch

Xanthomonas citri: breaking the surface
Asha M. Brunings and Dean W. Gabriel

Pantoea agglomerans pvs. gypsophilae and betae, recently evolved pathogens?
Shulamit Manulis and Isaac Barash

Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri: factors affecting successful eradication of citrus canker
James H. Graham, Tim R. Gottwald, Jaime Cubero and Diann S. Achor

Xanthomonas oryzae pathovars: model pathogens of a model crop
David O. Niño-Liu, Pamela C. Ronald And Adam J. Bogdanove

Pseudomonas corrugata: plant pathogen and/or biological resource?
Vittoria Catara

Phytoplasmas: bacteria that manipulate plants and insects
Saskia A. Hogenhout, Kenro Oshima, El-Desouky Ammar, Shigeyuki Kakizawa, Heather N. Kingdom and Shigetou Namba

Pantoea ananatis: an unconventional plant pathogen
Teresa A. Coutinho and Stephanus N. Venter

Genetic and physiological determinants of Streptomyces scabies pathogenicity
Sylvain Lerat, Anne-Marie Simao-Beaunoir and Carole Beaulieu