Recombination of Virulence Genes in Divergent Acidovorax avenae Strains That Infect a Common Host
Bacterial etiolation and decline (BED), caused by Acidovorax avenae, is an emerging disease of creeping bentgrass on golf courses in the United States. We performed the first comprehensive analysis of A. avenae on a nationwide collection of turfgrass- and maize-pathogenic A. avenae. Surprisingly, ou...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The American Phytopathological Society
2017-10-01
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| Series: | Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions |
| Online Access: | https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/MPMI-06-17-0151-R |
| _version_ | 1818647461682479104 |
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| author | Quan Zeng Jie Wang Frederic Bertels Paul R. Giordano Martin I. Chilvers Regan B. Huntley Joseph M. Vargas George W. Sundin Janette L. Jacobs Ching-Hong Yang |
| author_facet | Quan Zeng Jie Wang Frederic Bertels Paul R. Giordano Martin I. Chilvers Regan B. Huntley Joseph M. Vargas George W. Sundin Janette L. Jacobs Ching-Hong Yang |
| author_sort | Quan Zeng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Bacterial etiolation and decline (BED), caused by Acidovorax avenae, is an emerging disease of creeping bentgrass on golf courses in the United States. We performed the first comprehensive analysis of A. avenae on a nationwide collection of turfgrass- and maize-pathogenic A. avenae. Surprisingly, our results reveal that the turfgrass-pathogenic A. avenae in North America are not only highly divergent but also belong to two distinct phylogroups. Both phylogroups specifically infect turfgrass but are more closely related to maize pathogens than to each other. This suggests that, although the disease is only recently reported, it has likely been infecting turfgrass for a long time. To identify a genetic basis for the host specificity, we searched for genes closely related among turfgrass strains but distantly related to their homologs from maize strains. We found a cluster of 11 such genes generated by three ancient recombination events within the type III secretion system (T3SS) pathogenicity island. Ever since the recombination, the cluster has been conserved by strong purifying selection, hinting at its selective importance. Together our analyses suggest that BED is an ancient disease that may owe its host specificity to a highly conserved cluster of 11 T3SS genes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T01:02:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e2d6eaeb44cf462489b52f0da82f3397 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0894-0282 1943-7706 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T01:02:54Z |
| publishDate | 2017-10-01 |
| publisher | The American Phytopathological Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions |
| spelling | doaj.art-e2d6eaeb44cf462489b52f0da82f33972022-12-21T22:09:24ZengThe American Phytopathological SocietyMolecular Plant-Microbe Interactions0894-02821943-77062017-10-01301081382810.1094/MPMI-06-17-0151-RRecombination of Virulence Genes in Divergent Acidovorax avenae Strains That Infect a Common HostQuan Zeng0Jie Wang1Frederic Bertels2Paul R. Giordano3Martin I. Chilvers4Regan B. Huntley5Joseph M. Vargas6George W. Sundin7Janette L. Jacobs8Ching-Hong Yang9Department of Plant Pathology and Ecology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT 06504, U.S.A.;Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A.;Department for Evolutionary Theory, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön 24306, Germany; andDepartment of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A.;Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A.;Department of Plant Pathology and Ecology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT 06504, U.S.A.;Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A.;Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A.;Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A.;Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53211, U.S.A.Bacterial etiolation and decline (BED), caused by Acidovorax avenae, is an emerging disease of creeping bentgrass on golf courses in the United States. We performed the first comprehensive analysis of A. avenae on a nationwide collection of turfgrass- and maize-pathogenic A. avenae. Surprisingly, our results reveal that the turfgrass-pathogenic A. avenae in North America are not only highly divergent but also belong to two distinct phylogroups. Both phylogroups specifically infect turfgrass but are more closely related to maize pathogens than to each other. This suggests that, although the disease is only recently reported, it has likely been infecting turfgrass for a long time. To identify a genetic basis for the host specificity, we searched for genes closely related among turfgrass strains but distantly related to their homologs from maize strains. We found a cluster of 11 such genes generated by three ancient recombination events within the type III secretion system (T3SS) pathogenicity island. Ever since the recombination, the cluster has been conserved by strong purifying selection, hinting at its selective importance. Together our analyses suggest that BED is an ancient disease that may owe its host specificity to a highly conserved cluster of 11 T3SS genes.https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/MPMI-06-17-0151-R |
| spellingShingle | Quan Zeng Jie Wang Frederic Bertels Paul R. Giordano Martin I. Chilvers Regan B. Huntley Joseph M. Vargas George W. Sundin Janette L. Jacobs Ching-Hong Yang Recombination of Virulence Genes in Divergent Acidovorax avenae Strains That Infect a Common Host Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions |
| title | Recombination of Virulence Genes in Divergent Acidovorax avenae Strains That Infect a Common Host |
| title_full | Recombination of Virulence Genes in Divergent Acidovorax avenae Strains That Infect a Common Host |
| title_fullStr | Recombination of Virulence Genes in Divergent Acidovorax avenae Strains That Infect a Common Host |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recombination of Virulence Genes in Divergent Acidovorax avenae Strains That Infect a Common Host |
| title_short | Recombination of Virulence Genes in Divergent Acidovorax avenae Strains That Infect a Common Host |
| title_sort | recombination of virulence genes in divergent acidovorax avenae strains that infect a common host |
| url | https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/MPMI-06-17-0151-R |
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