Disease Resistance Against a Broad-Host-Range Pathogen

The bacterial wilt pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum causes major agricultural losses on many crop hosts worldwide. Resistance breeding is the best way to control bacterial wilt disease, but the biological basis for bacterial wilt resistance is unknown. We found that R. solanacearum uses an AvrE-family, Type III-secreted effector called PopS to overcome plant defenses and cause disease on tomato. Orthologs of PopS are widely conserved across distinct classes of plant pathogenic bacteria and could provide novel, durable targets for resistance. Accepted for publication 25 September 2013. Published 25 November 2013.