A "repertoire for repertoire" hypothesis: repertoires of type three effectors are candidate determinants of host specificity in Xanthomonas.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The genetic basis of host specificity for animal and plant pathogenic bacteria remains poorly understood. For plant pathogenic bacteria, host range is restricted to one or a few host plant species reflecting a tight adaptation to specific hosts.

Methodology/principal findings

Two hypotheses can be formulated to explain host specificity: either it can be explained by the phylogenetic position of the strains, or by the association of virulence genes enabling a pathological convergence of phylogenically distant strains. In this latter hypothesis, host specificity would result from the interaction between repertoires of bacterial virulence genes and repertoires of genes involved in host defences. To challenge these two hypotheses, we selected 132 Xanthomonas axonopodi

SUBMITTER: Hajri A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2722093 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature