Serratia spp. comparative genomics

Serratia entomophila and Serratia proteamaculans are causal agents of amber disease, specific to larvae of the New Zealand endemic grass pest, Costelytra giveni (Coleoptera. Scarabaeidae). Pathogenic isolates of both species are found coexisting with nonpathogenic conspecifics (predicted to be around 44% of the S. entomophila population) in sampled field sites around New Zealand. It is yet to be elucidated why the pADAP plasmid is only found in a proportion of the population, if this is a stable population, or what benefit can be conferred by the presence or absence of the plasmid. This study seeks to further investigatethe potential role of the chromosome of Serratia spp. in the population dynamic and variability of disease and plasmid persistence by utilising comparative genomic and transcriptomic techniques.