Comparative and explorative genome analyses of the requirements on a cell-free cultivation of phytopathogenic phytoplasmas

Phytoplasmas are economically important phytopathogenic bacteria. This project aims to determine the requirements of these parasitic bacteria on a cell-free culture medium, which is not available so far. A comparative analysis of the deduced metabolism from the genomes of ’Candidatus Phytoplasma’ and the related Acholeplasma spp. should be used for this purpose. Axenic cultures of Acholeplasma spp. are available in contrast to the phytoplasmas. Data analysis will include published and new data of both genera for the first time. These data will fill up the huge gap of information and include so far uncovered phytoplasma subgroups. Differences in the genetic content will highlight the general and individual dependence on the plant and insect hosts and also allow the identification of phytoplasma strains with a less condensed genome. Candidate strains for the enrichment or cell-free cultivation will be selected, culture media designed and evaluated.