Trends in Molecular Diagnosis and Diversity Studies for Phytosanitary Regulated Xanthomonas

Catara, Vittoria [Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy] Cubero, Jaime [National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA), 28002 Madrid, Spain] Pothier, Joël F. [Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Research Group, Institute for Natural Resource Sciences, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), 8820 Wädenswil, Switzerland] Bosis, Eran [Department of Biotechnology Engineering, ORT Braude College of Engineering, Karmiel 2161002, Israel] Bragard, Claude [UCL] Đermić, Edyta [Department of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia] Holeva, Maria C. [Benaki Phytopathological Institute, Scientific Directorate of Phytopathology, Laboratory of Bacteriology, GR-14561 Kifissia, Greece] Jacques, Marie-Agnès [IRHS, INRA, AGROCAMPUS-Ouest, Univ Angers, SFR 4207 QUASAV, 49071 Beaucouzé, France] Petter, Francoise [European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO/OEPP), 75011 Paris, France] Pruvost, Olivier [CIRAD, UMR PVBMT, F-97410 Saint Pierre, La Réunion, France] Robène, Isabelle [CIRAD, UMR PVBMT, F-97410 Saint Pierre, La Réunion, France] Studholme, David J. [Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK] Tavares, Fernando [CIBIO—Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO-Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal] Vicente, Joana G. [Fera Science Ltd., Sand Hutton, York YO41 1LZ, UK] Koebnik, Ralf [Plant Health Institute of Montpellier (PHIM), Univ Montpellier, Cirad, INRAe, Institut Agro, IRD, 34398 Montpellier, France] Costa, Joana [Centre for Functional Ecology-Science for People & the Planet, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 300-456 Coimbra, Portugal] et al.[show all]

Bacteria in the genus Xanthomonas infect a wide range of crops and wild plants, with most species responsible for plant diseases that have a global economic and environmental impact on the seed, plant, and food trade. Infections by Xanthomonas spp. cause a wide variety of non-specific symptoms, making their identification difficult. The coexistence of phylogenetically close strains, but drastically different in their phenotype, poses an added challenge to diagnosis. Data on future climate change scenarios predict an increase in the severity of epidemics and a geographical expansion of pathogens, increasing pressure on plant health services. In this context, the effectiveness of integrated disease management strategies strongly depends on the availability of rapid, sensitive, and specific diagnostic methods. The accumulation of genomic information in recent years has facilitated the identification of new DNA markers, a cornerstone for the development of more sensitive and specific methods. Nevertheless, the challenges that the taxonomic complexity of this genus represents in terms of diagnosis together with the fact that within the same bacterial species, groups of strains may interact with distinct host species demonstrate that there is still a long way to go. In this review, we describe and discuss the current molecular-based methods for the diagnosis and detection of regulated Xanthomonas, taxonomic and diversity studies in Xanthomonas and genomic approaches for molecular diagnosis.