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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Molecular Plant Pathology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #315880
Title: Complete genome sequence of Spiroplasma kunkelii strain CR2-3x, causal agent of corn stunt disease in Zea mays L.

Author
item Davis, Robert
item Shao, Jonathan
item Dally, Ellen
item Zhao, Yan
item GASPARICH, GAIL - Towson University
item GAYNOR, BRADY - Towson University
item Athey, John
item HARRISON, NIGEL - University Of Florida
item DONOFRIO, NICOLE - University Of Florida

Submitted to: Genome Announcements
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/11/2015
Publication Date: 10/22/2015
Citation: Davis, R.E., Shao, J.Y., Dally, E.L., Zhao, Y., Gasparich, G.E., Gaynor, B.J., Athey, J.C., Harrison, N.A., Donofrio, N. 2015. Complete genome sequence of Spiroplasma kunkelii strain CR2-3x, causal agent of corn stunt disease in Zea mays L.. Genome Announcements. 3(5):e01216-15. doi:10.1128/genomeA.01216-15.

Interpretive Summary: In South America, Central America, Mexico, and the southern United States, a serious crop disease known as corn stunt is caused by a tiny bacterium called “spiroplasma” by its discoverer, R.E. Davis. Today scientists know that spiroplasmas can cause diseases in plants, insects like honey bees, or crustaceans like shrimp, crayfish, prawn, and crab. To learn how some spiroplasmas cause disease in crop plants, we decoded (identified and interpreted) all the genes in the corn stunt spiroplasma (Spiroplasma kunkelii), the first time that all the genes have been decoded in any plant disease-causing spiroplasma. The completed gene decoding will interest quarantine agencies, diagnostics companies, microbiologists, plant pathologists, entomologists, professors, students, plant breeders, and seed companies.

Technical Abstract: Spiroplasma kunkelii is the cause of corn stunt disease of Zea mays L. in South America, Central America, Mexico, and the southern United States. This spiroplasma is closely related to the plant pathogens S. citri and S. phoenicium and to the honey bee pathogen S. melliferum. Here, we report the nucleotide sequence of the 1,463,926 bp circular chromosome of S. kunkelii strain CR2-3X to facilitate studies of its pathogenicity and evolutionary adaptations to transkingdom parasitism in plants and insect vectors.