Horizontal transfer of the plant virulence gene, nec1, and flanking sequences among genetically distinct Streptomyces strains in the Diastatochromogenes cluster.

ABSTRACT: Evidence for the horizontal transfer of a pathogenicity island (PAI) carrying the virulence gene nec1 and flanking sequences among Streptomyces strains in the Diastatochromogenes cluster is presented. Plant-pathogenic, thaxtomin-producing Streptomyces strains, previously classified as S. scabiei based on the conventionally used phenotypic characteristics, were found to be genetically distinct from the type strain of S. scabiei based on DNA relatedness and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Pairwise DNA-DNA hybridizations between some of these strains and the S. scabiei type strain were as low as 36%, a value much below what is conventionally accepted for species identity (70%). The sequence of the nec1 gene, however, was identical in all the S. scabiei and S. scabiei-like strains tested, irrespec

SUBMITTER: Bukhalid RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC126678 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature