Perspectives on the transition from bacterial phytopathogen genomics studies to applications enhancing disease management: from promise to practice

The advent of genomics has advanced science into a new era providing a plethora of "toys" for researchers in many related and disparate fields. Genomics has also spawned many new fields including proteomics, metabolomics, etc. furthering our ability to gain a more comprehensive view of individual organisms and of interacting organisms. Genomic information of both bacterial pathogens and their hosts has provided the critical starting point in understanding the molecular bases of how pathogens disrupt host cells to cause disease. In addition, knowledge of the complete genome sequence of the pathogen provides a potentially broad slate of targets for the development of novel virulence inhibitors that are desperately needed for disease management. Regarding plant bacterial pathogens and disease management, the potential for utilizing genomics resources in the development of durable resistance is enhanced because of developing technologies that enable targeted modification of the host. Here, we summarize the role of genomics studies in furthering efforts to manage bacterial plant diseases and highlight novel genomics-enabled strategies heading down this path.