MULTILOCUS SEQUENCE TYPING OF 'CANDIDATUS LIBERIBACTER SOLANACEARUM' ISOLATES FROM NORTH AMERICA AND NEW ZEALAND.

'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' is associated with Zebra Chip (ZC) disease of potato. ZC disease has seriously affected potato cultivation in North America and New Zealand. Genotyping 'Ca. L. solanacearum' isolates in different geographical regions will reveal genetic diversity and the epidemiological relationships of diseases associated with this bacterium. In this study, a panel of 10 multilocus sequence typing (MLST) markers for 'Ca. L. solanacearum' was developed and used to characterize genetic relationships among 'Ca. L. solanacearum' isolates in North America (USA and Mexico) and New Zealand. MLST analysis detected two sequence types (ST-1 and ST-2) for each of the 10 loci. Both types are present among US isolates while only one type was detected in Mexico (ST-1) and New Zealand (ST-2) isolates, respectively. This marker system provides a useful tool for genotyping and assessing genetic diversity of 'Ca. L. solanacearum' populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]