Gluck-Thaler E. auteur aut IRD Cerutti A. auteur aut IRD Perez-Quintero A. L. auteur aut IRD Butchacas J. auteur aut IRD Roman-Reyna V. auteur aut IRD Madhavan V. N. auteur aut IRD Shantharaj D. auteur aut IRD Merfa M. V. auteur aut IRD Pesce C. auteur aut IRD Jauneau A. auteur aut IRD Vancheva T. auteur aut IRD Lang J. M. auteur aut IRD Allen C. auteur aut IRD Verdier Valérie auteur aut IRD Gagnevin L. auteur aut IRD Szurek Boris auteur aut IRD Beckham G. T. auteur aut IRD De La Fuente L. auteur aut IRD Patel H. K. auteur aut IRD Sonti R. V. auteur aut IRD Bragard C. auteur aut IRD Leach J. E. auteur aut IRD Noel L. D. auteur aut IRD Slot J. C. auteur aut IRD Koebnik Ralf auteur aut IRD Jacobs J. M. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Vascular plant pathogens travel long distances through host veins, leading to life-threatening, systemic infections. In contrast, nonvascular pathogens remain restricted to infection sites, triggering localized symptom development. The contrasting features of vascular and nonvascular diseases suggest distinct etiologies, but the basis for each remains unclear. Here, we show that the hydrolase CbsA acts as a phenotypic switch between vascular and nonvascular plant pathogenesis. cbsA was enriched in genomes of vascular phytopathogenic bacteria in the family Xanthomonadaceae and absent in most nonvascular species. CbsA expression allowed nonvascular Xanthomonas to cause vascular blight, while cbsA mutagenesis resulted in reduction of vascular or enhanced nonvascular symptom development. Phylogenetic hypothesis testing further revealed that cbsA was lost in multiple nonvascular lineages and more recently gained by some vascular subgroups, suggesting that vascular pathogenesis is ancestral. Our results overall demonstrate how the gain and loss of single loci can facilitate the evolution of complex ecological traits. specialized 076 6 46 eabc4516 [10 p.] 2020 2375-2548 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010080024 10.1126/sciadv.abc4516 2375-2548 [F B010080024] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010080024 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/divers20-12/010080024.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2021-01-14 2025-02-24 fdi:010080024 fre