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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Parlier, California » San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center » Crop Diseases, Pests and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #297358
Title: Genomic insights into Xylella fastidiosa interactions with plant and insect hosts

Author
item RETCHLESS, ADAM - University Of California
item LABROUSSAA, FABIEN - University Of California
item SHAPIRO, L - University Of California
item Stenger, Drake
item LINDOW, STEVEN - University Of California
item ALMEIDA, RODRIGO - University Of California

Submitted to: Springer Verlag
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2014
Publication Date: 6/5/2014
Citation: Retchless, A., Labroussaa, F., Shapiro, L., Stenger, D.C., Lindow, S.E., Almeida, R.P. 2014. Genomic insights into Xylella fastidiosa interactions with plant and insect hosts. In: Gross, D. C., Lichens-Park, A., Kole, C. (eds.), Genomics of Plant-Associated Bacteria, Springer-Verlag, Berlin. p.177-222.

Interpretive Summary: Xylella fastidiosa is a plant pathogen causing Pierce’s disease of grapes, citrus variegated chlorosis, and a wide variety of vascular diseases in other horticultural and landscape plants. This book chapter focuses on the impact of genomics and bioinformatics on understanding X. fastidiosa evolution, ecology, biology and disease management.

Technical Abstract: Utilization of genomic data and widespread availability of genomics tools are still incipient in plant pathology. The first genome of a plant pathogen, the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, was only completed in 2000. Since then, a large number of bacterial plant pathogens have been sequenced, but much of the scientific knowledge extracted from these data is still limited, especially when compared to human pathogens. Nevertheless, significant advances have been made during the last decade, when genomics became widely available to the plant pathology community. Understanding of the functional role of genes and pathogen taxonomy and evolution has improved significantly. The availability of genome sequences has served as the backbone for much of this work. In this Chapter a holistic approach is taken to explore X. fastidiosa evolution, biology, and management based on information and insights that would not have been possible, or would be technically challenging, during the pre-genomics era. Although X. fastidiosa is widely thought of as a plant pathogen, its biology is more complex; focusing on pathogenicity to crops limits a broader understanding of X. fastidiosa biology, ecology, and evolution. It is predicted that genomic data and further research on isolates that do not cause crop diseases will permit a more complete view of X. fastidiosa. This is especially important in the context of emerging diseases, as data suggest that novel X. fastidiosa isolates are particularly prone to emerge as pathogens of economic importance.