Pectobacterium are an economically significant and diverse clade of soft-rot associated enterobacteria, currently represented by a single genome sequence, Pectobacterium atrosepticum SCRI 1043.  Phylogenetic analyses have revealed multiple distinct subgroups of the genus Pectobacterium, some of which have been elevated to species status.  Among these, the P. atrosepticum clade is somewhat unusual with its narrow host range (primarily potato) and distinct pathogenesis potential (blackleg).  We are complementing the genome data available from P. atrosepticum with draft sequences representing other distinct lineages and disease types.  We are using 454 massively parallel pyrosequencing technology to sequence genomes of P. carotovorum strain WPP14, a Wisconsin potato isolate and P. carotovorum subspecies brasiliensis strain WPP1692, a recently described potato pathogen from Brazil.  The short read size of individual sequences collected using this approach means that the draft sequences remain in a large number of contigs, but comparison to the complete genome of P. atrosepticum is providing us insights into similarities and differences between these soft-rot lineages.  This project is still in the early stages and represents a collaboration between GEL personnel, Amy Charkowski (UW-Madison), Jeff Dangl (UNC), Sarah Grant (UNC), and Ching-Hong Yang (UW-Milwaukee).  For more information contact This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .