Meta Analysis of the Ralstonia solanacearum species complex (RSSC) based on comparative evolutionary genomics and reverse ecology
Authors: Sharma Parul , Johnson Marcela A. , Mazloom Reza , Allen Caitilyn , Heath Lenwood S. , Lowe-Power Tiffany M. , Vinatzer Boris A. 
Published: December 2021

Ralstonia solanacearum species complex (RSSC) strains are bacteria that colonize plant xylem and cause vascular wilt diseases. However, individual strains vary in host range, optimal disease temperatures, and physiological traits. To increase our understanding of the evolution, diversity, and biology of the RSSC, we performed a meta-analysis of 100 representative RSSC genomes. These 100 RSSC genomes contain 4,940 genes on average, and a pangenome analysis found that there are 3,262 genes in the core genome (∼60% of the mean RSSC genome) with 13,128 genes in the extensive flexible genome. Although a core genome phylogenetic tree and a genome similarity matrix aligned with the previously named species (R. solanacearum, R. pseudosolanacearum, R. syzygii) and phylotypes (I-IV), these analyses also highlighted an unrecognized sub-clade of phylotype II. Additionally, we identified differences between phylotypes with respect to gene content and recombination rate, and we delineated population clusters based on the extent of horizontal gene transfer. Multiple analyses indicate that phylotype II is the most diverse phylotype, and it may thus represent the ancestral group of the RSSC. Additionally, we also used our genome-based framework to test whether the RSSC sequence variant (sequevar) taxonomy is a robust method to define within-species relationships of strains. The sequevar taxonomy is based on alignments of a single conserved gene (egl). Although sequevars in phylotype II describe monophyletic groups, the sequevar system breaks down in the highly recombinogenic phylotype I, which highlights the need for an improved cost-effective method for genotyping strains in phylotype I. Finally, we enabled quick and precise genome-based identification of newly sequenced Ralstonia strains by assigning Life Identification Numbers (LINs) to the 100 strains and by circumscribing the RSSC and its sub-groups in the LINbase Web service.

IMPACT STATEMENT

The Ralstonia solanacearum species complex (RSSC) includes dozens of economically important pathogens of many cultivated and wild plants. The extensive genetic and phenotypic diversity that exists within the RSSC has made it challenging to subdivide this group into meaningful subgroups with relevance to plant disease control and plant biosecurity. This study provides a solid genome-based framework for improved classification and identification of the RSSC by analyzing one hundred representative RSSC genome sequences with a suite of comparative evolutionary genomic tools. The results also lay the foundation for additional in-depth studies to gain further insights into evolution and biology of this heterogeneous complex of destructive plant pathogens.

DATA SUMMARY

The authors confirm that all raw data and code and protocols have been provided within the manuscript. All publicly available sequencing data used for analysis have been supplemented with accession numbers to access the data. The assembled genome of strain 19-3PR_UW348 was submitted to NCBI under Bioproject PRJNA775652 Biosample SAMN22612291. This Whole Genome Shotgun project has been deposited at GenBank under the accession JAJMMU000000000. The version described in this paper is version JAJMMU010000000.