This book describes how genomics has revolutionized our scientific understanding
of agriculturally important plant-associated bacteria. Each chapter focuses on
the genomics of particular bacteria: the first described plant pathogen, Erwinia
amylovora; phytoplasmas lacking cell walls; fastidious, phloem-restricted
liberibacters; Pseudomonas syringae, which is a genetically tractable model
system; Xanthomonas citri, which causes a disease that can devastate citrus
crops and Pseudomonas fluorescens, which can protect plants from diseases.
Topics considered in this volume include the importance of horizontal gene
transfer in originating new bacterial strains and species and advances in
transcriptomics that allow us to describe the complex regulatory networks
critical to plant-microbe interactions. The availability of the Xanthomonas
oryzae genome