The complex biogeography of the plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa: genetic evidence of introductions and Subspecific introgression in Central America.

ABSTRACT: The bacterium Xylella fastidiosa is a plant pathogen with a history of economically damaging introductions of subspecies to regions where its other subspecies are native. Genetic evidence is presented demonstrating the introduction of two new taxa into Central America and their introgression into the native subspecies, X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa. The data are from 10 genetic outliers detected by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of isolates from Costa Rica. Six (five from oleander, one from coffee) defined a new sequence type (ST53) that carried alleles at six of the eight loci sequenced (five of the seven MLST loci) diagnostic of the South American subspecies Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca which causes two economically damaging plant diseases, citrus variegated chlorosis and coffee

SUBMITTER: Nunney L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4224490 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature