Tissue-Specific Experimental Evolution Reveals Adaptive Trade-Offs in the Plant Vascular Pathogen Clavibacter michiganensis

The plant pathogenic bacterium Clavibacter michiganensis (Cm) is a systemic vascular pathogen that colonizes both xylem vessels and the intracellular apoplast during different stages of infection. To identify traits and loci associated with adaptation to these distinct host microenvironments, we conducted tissue-specific experimental evolution. Independent Cm lineages were repeatedly passaged in tomato to promote adaptation. After passages, adapted clones were characterized for virulence and related traits.