The bacterium
Xanthomonas campestris pathovar
musacearum (
Xcm) is the causal agent of banana
Xanthomonas wilt (BXW). This disease has devastated economies based on banana and plantain crops (
Musa species) in East Africa. Here we use genome-wide sequencing to discover a
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The bacterium
Xanthomonas campestris pathovar
musacearum (
Xcm) is the causal agent of banana
Xanthomonas wilt (BXW). This disease has devastated economies based on banana and plantain crops (
Musa species) in East Africa. Here we use genome-wide sequencing to discover a set of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among East African isolates of
Xcm. These SNPs have potential as molecular markers for phylogeographic studies of the epidemiology and spread of the pathogen. Our analysis reveals two major sub-lineages of the pathogen, suggesting that the current outbreaks of BXW on
Musa species in the region may have more than one introductory event, perhaps from Ethiopia. Also, based on comparisons of genome-wide sequence data from multiple isolates of
Xcm and multiple strains of
X. vasicola pathovar
vasculorum, we identify genes specific to
Xcm that could be used to specifically detect
Xcm by PCR-based methods.
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