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

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.

Pectobacterium parmentieri (black leg disease of potato).

Pectobacterium parmentieri is a bacterial pathogen of potato present in Europe since the 1960s. The bacterium was earlier classified as Pectobacterium carotovorum. After reclassification of P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum SCC3193 to P. wasabiae and later on to P. parmentieri, several studies devoted to identification of pectinolytic bacteria in international collections and identification of the strains isolated from infected potato plants have indicated that this bacteria commonly occurs in several regions of Europe, Canada, USA, New Zealand and South Africa. P. parmentieri can cause symptoms of blackleg and soft rot on potato tubers. These diseases are usually a consequence of latent infection of seed potatoes. In the majority of countries pre-basic and basic seed tuber potatoes intended for the production of seed tuber crops should be free of Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. P. parmentieri is not present on any international or national alert lists.

Population Structure and Biodiversity of Pectobacterium parmentieri Isolated from Potato Fields in Temperate Climate

Pectobacterium parmentieri (formerly Pectobacterium wasabiae) is a newly established species of pectinolytic plant-pathogenic bacteria responsible for the symptoms of soft rot and blackleg on potato. In this work, we describe biodiversity and the population structure of P. parmentieri strains isolated during two consecutive growing seasons from the seed potato fields in Poland. About 450 samples of diseased potato tubers, potato plants, or accompanying weeds were collected throughout the country and tested for the presence of P. parmentieri by molecular identification methods. We found that P. parmentieri strains commonly occur in almost all regions of Poland. Furthermore, these isolates constituted significant fraction of pectinolytic bacteria from seed potato fields because 16% (2013) and 13% (2014) of the analyzed plant samples were infected with P. parmentieri. Subsequently, a detailed characterization of the obtained strains was conducted basing on repetitive sequences profiling, recA-gene-based phylogeny, and phenotypic features. By applying repetitive extragenic palindromic sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (REP-PCR), we revealed the presence of five distinct genomic profiles among P. parmentieri strains, with profile I being the most abundant (approximately 44%). The performed recA gene-based phylogenetic analysis divided P. parmentieri isolates into two distinct clades, although the strains originating from different years did not group separately. Evaluation of the phenotypic traits playing crucial roles for the virulence of pectinolytic bacteria (namely, pectinase, cellulase and protease activities, and siderophore production, in addition to potato tissue maceration, swimming, and swarming motility) indicated some differences among the characterized strains. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that describes biodiversity and the population structure of P. parmentieri isolated in two growing seasons under temperate climate conditions and, hence, illustrates high heterogeneity within this species.

Screening for Potato Resistance to Blackleg and Soft Rot

Two diseases of the potato, blackleg of potato plants and soft rot of tubers, are caused by several species of pectinolytic bacteria which belong to two genera: Pectobacterium and Dickeya. Resistance to these bacteria is polygenic and the expression of resistance in tubers and plants is only partially related, as well as strongly dependent on the aggressiveness of the bacteria and on environmental factors. Two methods of assessing tuber and stem tissue resistance of potato cultivars and breeding lines are described.

Isolation, Identification and Preservation of Pectinolytic Bacteria Pathogenic to Potato

Blackleg of potato plants and soft rot of tubers are caused by several species of pectinolytic bacteria from genera Pectobacterium and Dickeya. The text describes simple methods of isolating bacteria from symptomatic and symptomless organs of potato plants, their identification using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and preservatio