Genome sequence resource of a taro bacterial soft rot pathogen Dickeya fangzhongdai ZXC1

Abstract

Dickeya fangzhongdai ZXC1 is a newly identified highly virulent causal agent of taro bacterial soft rot disease isolated from the taro sample showing typical soft rot symptoms at Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, China. The pathogen produces plant cell wall degrading enzymes which macerate the taro tube tissues. In this study, we report the whole genome sequencing analysis of strain ZXC1. The results showed that strain ZXC1 has one circular DNA chromosome of 5,129,951 bp with 56.59% G+C content. In addition to sharing a conserved zms gene cluster that encodes the genes for biosynthesis of phytotoxin zeamines, and 11 copies of predicted pectate lyases genes, the strain ZXC1 genome contains more prophage loci and higher number of type IV secretion system (T4SS) and type IV secretion system (T6SS) gene clusters than the D. fangzhongdai strains isolated from pears or phalaenopsis, which may account for its strong virulence phenotype. The data from this study present a valuable resource for elucidation of the pathogenic mechanisms of D. fangzhongdai, and may aid in developing new disease control approaches to safeguard taro production.