A survey of soft rot pectobacteriaceae along the anthropogenic gradient of the Durance river
Marie-Anne Barny: INRA
<div>Background: Soft rot Pectobacteriaceae (SRP: Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp.) infect a large number of plant species worldwide, including economically important plants. While the diversity of SRP observed on plants is fairly well described, the presence and diversity of SRP outside the plant context is not known in detail.</p> <p>Objectives: To anticipate disease emergence from environmental reservoirs and to propose regulatory guidelines and good practices for crop health management it is important to gain knowledge of SRP ecology outside of agronomic contexts.</p> <p>Methods: SRP sampling was performed all along the Durance river catchment in winter, spring, summer and autumn 2016 and 2017. This river catchment is interesting because it links alpine streams above the Serre-Ponçon lake to the Mediterranean agricultural basin of Avignon along an anthropogenic gradient. SRP sampling was coupled to detailed analysis of water physicochemical characteristics. Diversity of isolated SRP was further characterized through sequencing of one house-keeping gene.</p> <p>Conclusion: SRP distribution along the river stream was uneven, subjected to seasonal variation, land use and water physicochemical characteristics. This study further revealed a large previously unrecognized SRP diversity and the different ecological behaviours of Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. The potential virulence on various crops of the isolated SRP is currently under investigation.</div>
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