Comparative Genomics of pv. Strains Isolated from Weedy Grasses and Cultivated Wild Rice.

Bacterial leaf streak (BLS) of wheat (), caused by pv. , is a disease of major concern in the Northern Great Plains. The host range for pv. is relatively broad, including several small grains and perennial grasses. In Minnesota, pv. was isolated from weedy grasses in and around wheat fields that exhibited BLS symptoms and from cultivated wild rice () with symptomatic leaf tissue. Currently, no genomic resources are available for pv. strains isolated from non-wheat hosts. In this study, we sequenced and assembled the complete genomes of five strains isolated from weedy grass hosts, foxtail barley (), green foxtail (), and wild oat (), and from cultivated wild rice and wheat. These five genomes were compared with the publicly available genomes of seven pv. strains originating from wheat and one genome of an pv. strain originating from rye (). Global alignments of the genomes revealed little variation in genomic structures. Average nucleotide identity-based phylogeny and life identification numbers revealed that the strains share ≥99.25% identity. We noted differences in the presence of Type III secreted effectors, including transcription activator-like effectors. Despite differences between strains, we did not identify unique features distinguishing strains isolated from wheat and non-wheat hosts. This study contributes to the availability of genomic data for pv. from non-wheat hosts, thus increasing our understanding of the diversity within the pathogen population.