May the Phage be With You? Prophage-Like Elements in the Genomes of Soft Rot Pectobacteriaceae: Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp.

ABSTRACT: Soft Rot Pectobacteriaceae (SRP; Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp., formerly known as pectinolytic Erwinia spp.) are necrotrophic bacterial pathogens infecting a large number of plant species worldwide, including agriculturally-important crops. Despite the SRP importance in agriculture, little is known about the bacteriophages infecting them, and even less about the prophages present in their genomes. Prophages are recognized as factors underlying bacterial virulence, genomic diversification and ecological fitness that contribute to the novel phenotypic properties of bacterial hosts. Likewise, they are recognized as a driving force of bacterial evolution. In this study, 57 complete genomes of Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. deposited in NCB

SUBMITTER: Czajkowski R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6385640 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature