A MLVA genotyping scheme for global surveillance of the citrus pathogen Xanthomonas citri pv. citri suggests a worldwide geographical expansion of a single genetic lineage.

ABSTRACT: MultiLocus Variable number of tandem repeat Analysis (MLVA) has been extensively used to examine epidemiological and evolutionary issues on monomorphic human pathogenic bacteria, but not on bacterial plant pathogens of agricultural importance albeit such tools would improve our understanding of their epidemiology, as well as of the history of epidemics on a global scale. Xanthomonas citri pv. citri is a quarantine organism in several countries and a major threat for the citrus industry worldwide. We screened the genomes of Xanthomonas citri pv. citri strain IAPAR 306 and of phylogenetically related xanthomonads for tandem repeats. From these in silico data, an optimized MLVA scheme was developed to assess the global diversity of this monomorphic bacterium. Thirty-one minisatellite loci (ML

SUBMITTER: Pruvost O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4045669 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature