Noel T. Keen--pioneer leader in molecular plant pathology

Proposal for the creation of a new genus Musicola gen. nov., reclassification of Dickeya paradisiaca (Samson et al. 2005) as Musicola paradisiaca comb. nov. and description of a new species Musicola keenii sp. nov

The Pectobacteriaceae family of important plant pathogens includes the genus Dickeya. There are currently 12 described species of Dickeya, although some are poorly characterized at the genomic level. Only two genomes of Dickeya paradisiaca, the type strain CFBP 4178^T and strain Ech703, have previously been sequenced. Members of this species are mostly of tropical or subtropical origin. During an investigation of strains present in our laboratory collection we sequenced the atypical strain A3967, registered as CFBP 722, isolated from Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) in the South of France in 1965. The genome of strain A3967 shares digital DNA-DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity (ANI) values of 68 and 96 %, respectively, with the D. paradisiaca type strain CFBP 4178^T. However, ANI analysis showed that D. paradisiaca strains are significantly dissimilar to the other Dickeya species, such that less than one third of their genomes align to any other Dickeya genome. On phenotypic, phylogenetic and genomic grounds, we propose a reassignment of D. paradisiaca to the genus level, for which we propose the name Musicola gen. nov., with Musicola paradisiaca as the type species and CFBP 4178^T (NCPPB 2511^T) as the type strain. Phenotypic analysis showed differences between strain A3967^T and CFBP 4178^T, such as for the assimilation of melibiose, raffinose and myo-inositol. These results support the description of two novel species, namely Musicola paradisiaca comb. nov. and Musicola keenii sp. nov., with CFBP 4178^T (NCPPB 2511^T=LMG 2542^T) and A3967^T (CFBP 8732^T=LMG 31880^T) as the type strains, respectively.

Ten things to know about oomycete effectors

Long considered intractable organisms by fungal genetic research standards, the oomycetes have recently moved to the centre stage of research on plant-microbe interactions. Recent work on oomycete effector evolution, trafficking and function has led to major conceptual advances in the science of plant pathology. In this review, we provide a historical perspective on oomycete genetic research and summarize the state of the art in effector biology of plant pathogenic oomycetes by describing what we consider to be the 10 most important concepts about oomycete effectors.