Pseudomonas – Prunus

Why do certain bacteria cause disease in certain plants but not others? All of the plant species that a pathogen can successfully infect and colonise is called the host range. Pseudomonas syringae (Ps) has one of the broadest host ranges with variants that can infect over 300 different plant species. This includes at least 8 variants which are known to cause bacterial canker of cherry trees (Prunus spp.)

Using the Pseudomonas – Prunus relationship as a model, this project seeks to understand how bacteria adapt to infect specfic hosts. The researchers are exploring numerous different factors, from genome sequencing to agricultural practices, to see if it is possible to predict (and therefore mitigate) the emergence of host adapted plant pathogens.

The projects objectives are;

1. To understand Pseudomonas syringae population similarity and stability over distance, time and environment on and in the leaves of Prunus spp.
2. To define factors contributing to host range
3. Develop and validate host-range prediction tools to assess the risks of host jumps by Pseudomonas syringae

Meet the Pseudomonas-Prunus Team