Bacteria Genomes - ERWINIA CAROTOVORA

Erwinia carotovora is a species of plant pathogenic, Gram-negative , facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria which gets its name from carrots, the crop in which it was first isolated and named, but it affects many other vegetables, including potatoes, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, lettuce and even some ornamental plants like iris .

The bacterial family Enterobacteriaceae is notable for its well studied human pathogens, including Salmonella, Yersinia, Shigella, and Escherichia spp. However, it also contains several plant pathogens. Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica (Eca) strain SCRI1043 is the causative agent of soft rot and blackleg potato diseases. Infected potatoes have mushy spots with black borders and can have a foul odour.

E.carotovora poses a serious problem in Europe in potato production. Highly sophisticated technical measures allow planting, harvesting and storage of potatoes under optimum conditions. However, export of seed potatoes, which is a major commercial application, is strongly affected by occurrence of the pathogen. Scientists believe that development of new, highly innovative and specific - as well as efficient - resistance strategies towards Erwinia carotovora targeted at the interaction with specific signalling molecules in the plant-pathogen-interaction will allow efficient resistance breeding. Classical breeding techniques cannot be successful because of the lack of resistance traits. The approaches chosen are highly innovative and straightforward.

References:

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A , 101 (30):11105-10 (2004)
http://www.sanger.ac.uk/Projects/E_carotovora/
http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/mbcn/veg510.html
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/agro/fair/en/de3676.html