Erwinia uzenensis sp. nov., a novel pathogen that affects European pear trees (Pyrus communis L.)

Bacteria were isolated from black lesions on shoots of European pear trees (Pyrus communis L.) in an orchard in Japan. Previous characterization of this novel pathogen by phenotypic and genotypic methods suggested that it should belong to the genus Erwinia but might not correspond to either Erwinia amylovora or Erwinia pyrifoliae. Here, phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rRNA gene, gyrB, and rpoD gene sequences indicated that it could not be assigned to any recognized species of the genus Erwinia. DNA-DNA hybridization confirmed that the bacterial strains represented a novel species. The DNA G+C contents, the fatty acid profile and phenotypic characteristics resembled those previously reported for members of the genus Erwinia. On the basis of these and previous results, the pathogen represents a novel species of the genus Erwinia, for which the name Erwinia uzenensis sp. nov. (type strain: YPPS 951(T) = LMG 25843(T) = NCPPB 4475(T)) is proposed.