2019 Volume 85 Issue 1 Pages 3-17
Based on its highly diverse phenotypes and genotypes, strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa), causal bacterium of kiwifruit canker, have been subdivided into biovars 1–3, 5 and 6. In comparative genomic analyses of numerous strains with various histories by our research group and others around the world, to clarify the genetic background that contributes to biovar differences, repertories of toxin biosynthesis gene clusters and genes encoding type III secreted effectors were found to differ greatly among biovars. Many mobile genetic elements, such as plasmids and genomic islands including integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) and integrative and mobilizable elements (IMEs), were also found in the Psa genomes and may also have contributed to the diversification.
