IDENTIFICATION OF THE VIRULENCE FACTORS OF PECTOBACTERIUM SP. CAUSING BACTERIAL SOFT ROT

Pectobacterium sp. causes the bacterial soft rot diseases in a wide range of plant species. In this study, random gene-knockout with transposon was conducted to explore genes involved in pathogenicity. As a result, I found 38 mutant strains of which pathogenicity was decreased. The determination of mutated genes revealed that 10 genes such as glycosyltransferase, RNA-binding protein hfq and Tol-Pal system are necessary for complete virulence.