The First Polish Isolate of a Novel Species Pectobacterium aquaticum Originates from a Pomeranian Lake

Abstract

Pectinolytic bacteria from the genus Pectobacterium cause high economic losses in various crops, vegetables, and ornamentals including potato. Thus far, these strains have been isolated from distinct environments such as rotten or asymptomatic plants, soil, and waterways. The prevalence of soft rot Pectobacteriaceae in different depths of Pomeranian lakes was performed by a qualified scuba diver over 2 years of monitoring. It allowed for the isolation and broad characterization of a strain from the newly established species Pectobacterium aquaticum. Phylogenetic analysis on the sequences of dnaX and recA genes revealed the highest similarity of this strain to P. aquaticum CFBP 8637T. In addition to the determination of analytical profile index (API 20E), we discovered that this strain possesses a smooth form of a lipopolysaccharide with O-polysaccharide consisting of mannose, glucose, and abequose. Moreover, the characterized strain, described as P. aquaticum IFB5637, produced plant-cell–wall-degrading enzymes, such as pectinases, cellulases, proteases, and was capable of macerating potato and chicory tissues under laboratory conditions. In view of more frequent irrigation of seed potato fields resulting from the ongoing climate warming, it is important to monitor the occurrence of potential disease-causing agents in natural waterways.

Two species with a peculiar evolution within the genus Pectobacterium suggest adaptation to a new environmental niche

“…P. fontis was not included because this species is represented by a single strain and a single draft genome . In contrast, numerous strains of P. aquaticum and P. quasiaquaticum have recently been isolated from waters in France, Poland and the Netherlands (Babinska et al, 2021;Ben Moussa et al, 2022;Jonkheer et al, 2021) and several genomes were available for both species at the start of the present study. Our genomic and phenotypic analysis together with the lack of isolation of these two species from plants questioned the niche of both species.…”

Phyloproteomic study by MALDI-TOF MS in view of intraspecies variation in a significant homogenous phytopathogen Dickeya solani

“…Abilities necessary for the studied pathogen to efficiently colonize plant host tissue were examined as described previously 33 with slight modifications.…”

Detection, characterization, and management of plant pathogens

“…nov. was established, representing a group of strains isolated from waterways in France (Moussa et al, 2021). Within the genus, P. quasiaquaticum is closely related to P. aquaticum, which also has a freshwater origin (Pedron et al, 2019;Babinska et al, 2021). To date, a total of 11 Pectobacterium species have been reported in potato plants, including P. aroidearum, P. atrosepticum, P. betavasculorum, P. brasiliense, P. carotovorum, P. parmentieri, P. peruviense, P. parvum, P. polaris, P. punjabense, and P. versatile (Pasanen, 2020;Pasanen et al, 2020).…”