Interspecies exchange of mobile genetic elements during a plant disease outbreak
Abstract
Outbreak sequencing provides insight into the origin and evolutionary processes acting on emerging pathogens. Sequencing a historic multihost outbreak of Ralstonia spp. in Martinique shows the outbreak was caused by two lineages that diverged at separate times from mainland populations. One lineage (Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum I- 18) was originally introduced from Asia to South America, where it became well established prior to its dissemination to Martinique, where it retains a signature of specialization on solanaceous hosts. The novel lineage first identified dur- ing the outbreak (Ralstonia solanacearum IIB-4NPB) arose from a mainland population endemic to the Americas prior to its arrival in Martinique, where host-range expansion was observed. In contrast to minor changes in secreted effector protein repertoires, the emergent R. solanacearum IIB-4NPB acquired a novel integrative and conjugative element (ICERsoRUN1145). After identifying all Ralstonia spp. ICEs and mapping their spatial and phylogenetic distribution among Ralstonia spp. sampled during the outbreak, we found closely related ICEs circulating in mainland populations of R. pseudosolanacearum, indicating likely exchange between introduced and endemic Ralstonia spp. The family of ICEs in Ralstonia (ICERs) has a conserved bipartite structure and display a striking pattern of functional specialization in each cargo gene insertion hotspot: the first hotspot is a target for metabolic gene acquisition, and the second is a target for defense element acquisition. This work provides unparalleled phylogenetic and spatial resolution of an unusual out- break and highlights the role of horizontal transfer in shaping the ecological success of an emerging pathogen.
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BibTeX
@article{evseeva2026interspecies,
title = {{Interspecies exchange of mobile genetic elements during a plant disease outbreak}},
author = {Daria Evseeva and Yann Pecrix and Marek Kucka and Catrin Weiler and Carolin Franzl and Markéta Vlková-Žlebková and Elena Colombi and Yingguang Frank Chan and Stéphane Poussier and Emmanuel Wicker and Honour Mccann},
journal = {Genome Biology and Evolution},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/gbe/evag192},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05798594v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Interspecies exchange of mobile genetic elements during a plant disease outbreak
AU - Daria Evseeva
AU - Yann Pecrix
AU - Marek Kucka
AU - Catrin Weiler
AU - Carolin Franzl
AU - Markéta Vlková-Žlebková
AU - Elena Colombi
AU - Yingguang Frank Chan
AU - Stéphane Poussier
AU - Emmanuel Wicker
AU - Honour Mccann
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - Genome Biology and Evolution
DO - 10.1093/gbe/evag192
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05798594v1
AB - Outbreak sequencing provides insight into the origin and evolutionary processes acting on emerging pathogens. Sequencing a historic multihost outbreak of Ralstonia spp. in Martinique shows the outbreak was caused by two lineages that diverged at separate times from mainland populations. One lineage (Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum I- 18) was originally introduced from Asia to South America, where it became well established prior to its dissemination to Martinique, where it retains a signature of specialization on solanaceous hosts. The novel lineage first identified dur- ing the outbreak (Ralstonia solanacearum IIB-4NPB) arose from a mainland population endemic to the Americas prior to its arrival in Martinique, where host-range expansion was observed. In contrast to minor changes in secreted effector protein repertoires, the emergent R. solanacearum IIB-4NPB acquired a novel integrative and conjugative element (ICERsoRUN1145). After identifying all Ralstonia spp. ICEs and mapping their spatial and phylogenetic distribution among Ralstonia spp. sampled during the outbreak, we found closely related ICEs circulating in mainland populations of R. pseudosolanacearum, indicating likely exchange between introduced and endemic Ralstonia spp. The family of ICEs in Ralstonia (ICERs) has a conserved bipartite structure and display a striking pattern of functional specialization in each cargo gene insertion hotspot: the first hotspot is a target for metabolic gene acquisition, and the second is a target for defense element acquisition. This work provides unparalleled phylogenetic and spatial resolution of an unusual out- break and highlights the role of horizontal transfer in shaping the ecological success of an emerging pathogen.
SN - 1759-6653
SN - 1759-6653
ER -