Genome sequencing of the bacterial blight pathogen DY89031 reveals its diverse virulence and origins of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae strains

The bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), belonging to Xanthomonas sp., causes one of the most destructive vascular diseases in rice worldwide, particularly in Asia and Africa. To better understand Xoo pathogenesis, we performed genome sequencing of the Korea race 1 strain DY89031 (J18) and analyzed the phylogenetic tree of 63 Xoo strains. We found that the rich diversity of evolutionary features is likely associated with the rice cultivation regions. Further, virulence effector proteins secreted by the type III secretion system (T3SS) of Xoo showed pathogenesis divergence. The genome of DY89031 shows a remarkable difference from that of the widely prevailed Philippines race 6 strain PXO99A, which is avirulent to rice Xa21, a well-known disease resistance (R) gene that can be broken down by DY89031. Interestingly, plant inoculation experiments with the PXO99A transformants expressing the DY89031 genes enabled us to identify additional TAL (transcription activator-like) and non-TAL effectors that may support DY89031-specific virulence. Characterization of DY89031 genome and identification of new effectors will facilitate the investigation of the rice-Xoo interaction and new mechanisms involved.