Xanthomonas citri
| Xanthomonas citri | |
|---|---|
| Bacterial X. citri black spot on a mango, note that each black lesion has “cracks” | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Kingdom: | Pseudomonadati |
| Phylum: | Pseudomonadota |
| Class: | Gammaproteobacteria |
| Order: | Xanthomonadales |
| Family: | Xanthomonadaceae |
| Genus: | Xanthomonas |
| Species: | X. citri |
| Binomial name | |
| Xanthomonas citri (Hasse 1915) Gabriel et al. 1989 | |
Xanthomonas citri is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium. Although it is harmless for humans, it is a phytopathogen, known for being the causing agent of citrus canker.
Many pathovars are misclassified as X. cissicola, X. campestris, or X. axonopodis. A 2022 study proposes moving 20 pathovars in these three (including the sole representative of X. cissicola) into X. citri. However, based on the principle of priority, all "X. citri" should become instead named under the earliest-published name, X. cissicola like in GTDB. The two proposals do not affect the independence of X. campestris and X. axonopodis, as their type strains are sufficiently distinct from X. citri/cissicola to be their own species.