First report of two species causing bacterial leaf blight on wheat in the United States.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is an important crop worldwide, contributing to about one third of the global caloric intake. In June 2021, leaves with bacterial blight symptoms, including yellow and necrotic lesions running parallel to veins, were found in several fields across five counties in eastern Colorado (Weld, Morgan, Sedgwick, Baca, and Kit Carson). Plants exhibiting these symptoms were scattered throughout fields, but symptoms appeared consistent across counties.

A recently collected isolate encodes TAL effectors distinct from older, less virulent isolates.

the causal agent of bacterial leaf streak disease (BLS) in cereals, is a re-emerging pathogen that is becoming increasingly destructive across the world. While BLS has caused yield losses in the past, there is anecdotal evidence that newer isolates may be more virulent. We observed that two isolates collected from two sites in Colorado, USA, are more aggressive on current wheat and barley varieties compared to older isolates, and we hypothesize that genetic changes between recent and older isolates contribute to the differences in isolate aggressiveness.

Development of Genome-Driven, Lifestyle-Informed Markers for Identification of the Cereal-Infecting Pathogens Pathovars and .

Bacterial leaf streak, bacterial blight, and black chaff caused by pathovars are major diseases affecting small grains. pv. and pv.