BIFF Seminar, 14.november

Elin Judit Straumsvåg

BIFF Seminar fredag, 14. november, Matforsk, kl. 1100
IanToth, Scottish Crops Research Institute: "Plant pathogen interactions, Erwinia genomics"

Ian Toth1, Kenneth Bell1, Julian Parkhill2, Mohammed Sebaihia2, Maria Holeva1, Beth Hyman1, and Paul Birch1.

1Scottish Crop Research Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee UK.
2Pathogen Sequencing Unit, Wellcome Trust Sanger Research Institute

Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica (Eca) is an economically important pathogen of potato, causing blackleg of plants in the field and soft rot of tubers post-harvest. Its pathogenicity is primarily dependant on the tightly regulated production of large amounts of extracellular enzymes that degrade the plant cell wall. Other factors, such as iron acquisition and defence against the plant response, are also known to be important.

However, in recent years it has become clear that soft rot pathogenesis is more complex than previously thought and the relationship between Eca and potato and non-host plants is still far from being understood. Other aspects of its lifestyle, such as its survival when not causing disease, also remain unclear.
The complete genome sequence of Eca has been determined at the Welcome Trust Sanger Institute by the whole genome shotgun method and directed gap closure. The genome size is 5.08 MB, and its analysis has revealed the full complement of plant cell wall degrading enzymes (including novel ones) and their various regulators (including some not previously found in Eca), as well as numerous other candidate pathogenicity factors. These include a Type III secretion system, with associated helper and effector proteins, genes that may code for attachment factors and phytotoxin synthesis, and genes that may play a role in allowing Eca to survive in diverse conditions, including a large number encoding putative chemtotaxis proteins and novel putative iron scavenging systems. Comparison of the genome sequence with that of Erwinia chrysanthemi, those of other plant pathogens and of fellow members of the Enterobacteriaceae, is allowing us to unravelling the biology and pathogenicity of Eca, and serve as a blueprint for future research. An analysis of the genome sequence and our latest functional analyses will be presented.

Oppdatert: 13.11.03
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