AUTHOR=Ruinelli Michela , Blom Jochen , Smits Theo H. M. , Pothier Joël F. 

TITLE=Comparative Genomics of Prunus-Associated Members of the Pseudomonas syringae Species Complex Reveals Traits Supporting Co-evolution and Host Adaptation

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.804681

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.804681

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Members of the <italic>Pseudomonas syringae</italic> species complex cause symptoms that are ranging from leaf spots to cankers on a multitude of plant species, including some of the genus <italic>Prunus</italic>. To date, a total of two species of the <italic>P. syringae</italic> species complex and six different pathovars have been associated with diseases on <italic>Prunus</italic> spp., which were shown to belong to different phylogenetic units (phylogroups, PG) based on sequence similarity of housekeeping genes or whole genomes, suggesting that virulence to <italic>Prunus</italic> spp. may be the result of convergent pathoadaptation. In this study, a comparative genomics approach was used to determine genes significantly associated with strains isolated from <italic>Prunus</italic> spp. across a phylogeny of 97 strains belonging to the <italic>P. syringae</italic> species complex. Our study revealed the presence of a set of orthologous proteins which were significantly associated with strains isolated from <italic>Prunus</italic> spp. than in strains isolated from other hosts or from non-agricultural environments. Among them, the type III effector HopAY predicted to encode for a C58 cysteine protease was found to be highly associated with strains isolated from <italic>Prunus</italic> spp. and revealed patterns supporting co-evolution and host adaptation.</p>