Genetic and Evolutionary Characterization of Plant Pathogenic Xanthomonads Based on DNA Sequences Related to the Hrp Genes

Abstract:
The objective of this study was to determine the population structure of some taxa of the genus Xanthomonas based on the hrp gene cluster. Three pairs of oligonucleotide primers specific for different regions of the hrp genes of Xanthomonas spp. were designed to carry out the study. The phylogenetic analysis of the hrp genes revealed a diverse evolutionary relationship for this region of the bacterial genome of the xanthomonads.One of the major findings of this study is the divergence between hrp gene sequence and host specificity. Furthermore, the restriction banding profiles generated for the hrp fragments may be an easy and discriminating approach for identification of plant pathogenic xanthomonads.
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