A genome-scale metabolic model of a pathosystem sheds new light on bacterial wilt

The model made it possible to quantify material flows during a plant infection. Among other things, the model showed that the decline in plant transpiration caused by the presence of Ralstonia in the vascular system leads to a halt in plant growth and determines the maximum density that Ralstonia can reach.

The model also shows that Ralstonia can hijack the metabolism of stem cells by causing phloem to be injected into the xylem, but that this phenomenon likely occurs only to a very limited extent.

Finally, the model shows that the putrescine secreted by Ralstonia affects the plant’s polyamine balance (for example, it halts putrescine synthesis in the plant at high bacterial densities), which is likely to have a deleterious effect on the plant.