The Complete Genome of the “Flavescence Dorée” Phytoplasma Reveals Characteristics of Low Genome Plasticity

Abstract

Members of the genus ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma’ are obligate intracellular bacteria restricted to phloem sieve elements and are able to colonize several tissues and the hemolymph in their insect vectors. The current unfeasibility of axenic culture and the low complexity of genomic sequences are obstacles in assembling complete chromosomes. Here, a method combining pathogen DNA enrichment from infected insects and dual deep-sequencing technologies was used to obtain the complete genome of a phytoplasma causing Grapevine Flavescence dorée. The de novo assembly generated a circular chromosome of 654,223 bp containing 506 protein-coding genes. Quality assessment of the draft showed a high degree of completeness. Comparative analysis with other phytoplasmas revealed the absence of potential mobile units and a reduced amount of putative phage-derived segments, suggesting a low genome plasticity. Phylogenetic analyses identified Candidatus Phytoplasma ziziphi as the closest fully sequenced relative. The “Flavescence dorée” phytoplasma strain CH genome also encoded for several putative effector proteins potentially playing a role in pathogen virulence. The availability of this genome provides the basis for the study of the pathogenicity mechanisms and evolution of the Flavescence dorée phytoplasma.