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Avirulence gene D of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato may have undergone horizontal gene transfer
Author(s) -
Hanekamp Theodor,
Kobayashi Donald,
Hayes Scott,
Stayton Mark M.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/s0014-5793(97)01089-2
Subject(s) - pseudomonas syringae , biology , plasmid , erwinia , gene , genetics , horizontal gene transfer , pathogen , gene cluster , r gene , pathogenicity island , dna , microbiology and biotechnology , genome , plant disease resistance
Avirulence gene D ( avrD ) is carried on the B‐plasmid of the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato with plasmid‐borne avrD homologs widely distributed among the Pseudomonads. We now report sequences in the soft rot pathogen Erwinia carotovora that cross‐hybridize to avrD suggesting a conserved function beyond avirulence. Alternatively, avrD may have been transferred horizontally among species: (i) DNA linked to avrD shows evidence of class II transpositions and contains a novel IS 3 ‐related insertion sequence, and (ii) short sequences linked to avrD are similar to pathogenicity genes from a variety of unrelated pathogens. We have also identified the gene cluster that controls B‐plasmid stability.