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Concurrent Session

Session: Concurrent Session: Population Biology, Ecology & Genomics

Repeat, evolve, repeat: The high evolvability of the Xanthomonas oryzae genome facilitates epidemic outbreaks in rice.

Monday, July 14, 2025
11:40 - 11:50  
Location: Room P+Q

    Presenting Author(s)

  • AP

    Alvaro L. PEREZ QUINTERO (he/him/his)

    Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
    Montpellier, 34, FRANCE

    • Author(s)

  • IQ

    Ian Lorenzo Quibod

    Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
    Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

  • PB

    Pablo Bertogna

    Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
    Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

  • LB

    Laurent Brottier

    Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
    Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

  • CB

    Camille Blasco

    Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
    Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

  • RR

    Ravo Rabekijana

    Université d’Antananarivo, École Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques (ESSA)
    Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar

  • HR

    Harinjaka Raveloson

    Centre Régional de Recherche du FOFIFA
    Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar

  • AD

    Alexis Dereeper

    Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
    Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

  • FA

    Florence Auguy

    Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
    Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

  • CN

    Claire Neema

    Institut Agro Montpellier
    Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

  • IH

    Ibrahim Hashim

    Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI)
    Ifakara, Morogoro, Tanzania

  • JW

    Jane Wamaitha

    Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO)
    Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya

  • GO

    Geoffrey Onaga

    Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice)
    Bouake, Vallee du Bandama, Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

  • MH

    Mathilde Hutin

    Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
    Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

  • BS

    Boris Szurek

    Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
    Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Abstract Text:

All living beings evolve but they don’t do so at the same speed. The “evolvability” of an organism can be determined by genomic features like the presence of repetitive regions and, as such, it is a trait subject to natural selection. We show that the genome of the bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae, causing Bacterial Leaf Blight in rice, is abnormally repetitive and highly evolvable, likely due to selection imposed by resistance in the host plant. As a consequence,  X. oryzae has an increased ability to break down resistance, adapt to different rice varieties, and cause epidemics. In the past years, introduced novel strains of X. oryzae have been spreading quickly in various countries in East Africa, including Kenya, Madagascar and Tanzania; this disease is of grave concern given the importance of rice cultivation in these countries. We show how the spread of these epidemic strains is likely favored by their highly evolvable genomes, and how genomic changes that have occurred during the course of this epidemic can lead to changes in virulence.