Novel Candidate Virulence Factors in Rice Pathogen <i>Xanthomonas oryzae</i> pv. oryzicola as Revealed by Mutational Analysis

Abstract

Bacterial leaf streak, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola, is an important disease of rice. Transposon-mediated mutational analysis of the pathogen with a quantitative assay revealed candidate virulence factors including genes involved in the pathogenesis of other phytopathogenic bacteria, virulence factors of animal pathogens, and genes not previously associated with virulence.