Whole-genome sequencing and comparative genome analysis of Xanthomonas fragariae YM2 causing angular leaf spot disease in strawberry

Abstract

BackgroundAngular leaf spot disease caused by plant pathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas fragariae seriously threatens strawberry crop production globally.MethodsIn this study, we sequenced the whole genome of X. fragariae YM2, isolated from Yunnan Province, China. In addition, we performed a comparative genome analysis of X. fragariae YM2 with two existing strains of X. fragariae YL19 and SHQP01 isolated from Liaoning and Shanghai, respectively.ResultsThe results of Nanopore sequencing showed that X. fragariae YM2 comprises one single chromosome with a contig size of 4,263,697 bp, one plasmid contig size of 0.39 Mb, a GC content ratio of 62.27%, and 3,958 predicted coding genes. The genome of YM2 comprises gum, hrp, rpf, and xps gene clusters and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which are typical virulence factors in Xanthomonas species. By performing a comparative genomic analysis between X. fragariae strains YM2, YL19, and SHQP01, we found that strain YM2 is similar to YL19 and SHQP01 regarding genome size and GC contents. However, there are minor differences in the composition of major virulence factors and homologous gene clusters. Furthermore, the results of collinearity analysis demonstrated that YM2 has lower similarity and longer evolutionary distance with YL19 and SHQP01, but YL19 is more closely related to SHQP01.ConclusionsThe availability of this high-quality genetic resource will serve as a basic tool for investigating the biology, molecular pathogenesis, and virulence of X. fragariae YM2. In addition, unraveling the potential vulnerabilities in its genetic makeup will aid in developing more effective disease suppression control measures.

TheXanthomonas fragariaeeffector XopK suppresses stomatal immunity by perturbing abscisic acid accumulation and signaling pathways in strawberry

“…The genomic information of 74 Xaf strains, including the new strain YL19 (Li et al, 2021; Wang et al, 2023; Wei et al, 2022; Qiu et al, 2023), was sequentially made accessible to the public (Gétaz et al, 2017; Henry & Leveau, 2016; Vandroemme et al, 2013; Qiu et al, 2023). The virulent Xaf strain LMG25863 was predicted to contain twenty-three T3Es and several putative new effectors (Vandroemme et al, 2013).…”