Regulation of , the Magnesium, Nickel, Cobalt Transporter, and Its Role in the Virulence of the Soft Rot Pathogen, Strain Ecc71.

(formally ) causes disease on diverse plant species by synthesizing and secreting copious amount of plant-cell-wall-degrading exoenzymes including pectate lyases, polygalacturonases, cellulases, and proteases. Exoenzyme production and virulence are controlled by many factors of bacterial, host, and environmental origin. The ion channel forming the magnesium, nickel, and cobalt transporter CorA is required for exoenzyme production and full virulence in strain Ecc71.

CorA, the magnesium/nickel/cobalt transporter, affects virulence and extracellular enzyme production in the soft rot pathogen Pectobacterium carotovorum.

Pectobacterium carotovorum (formerly Erwinia carotovora ssp. carotovora) is a phytopathogenic bacterium that causes soft rot disease, characterized by water-soaked soft decay, resulting from the action of cell wall-degrading exoenzymes secreted by the pathogen. Virulence in soft rot bacteria is regulated by environmental factors, host and bacterial chemical signals, and a network of global and gene-specific bacterial regulators.