细菌性果斑病（Bacterial Fruit Blotch, BFB）是一种能够种传，可以对葫芦科植物造成毁灭性为害的检疫性病害。本项目申请人以前期通过西瓜食酸菌（Acidovorax citrulli）- - 黄瓜互作的模式病害体系筛选转座子插入突变体，在获得一个新的致病基因T的基础上，拟通过基因功能互补以及同源基因敲除的途径进一步验证基因T的致病功能；利用细菌双杂交系统筛选T蛋白的互作蛋白，并通过基因敲除等途径分析候选互作蛋白的功能，在此基础上解析T基因在病菌致病过程中的作用机制，为建立拥有自主知识产权、新型高效的细菌类植物病害防治新途径、新方法提供科学依据。

Bacterial fruit blotch (BFB), caused by Acidovorax citrulli, is a devastating, quarantine disease of cucurbits. Understanding the molecular and genetic basis of BFB pathogenesis will be helpful to develop effective disease control measures. By creation and screening a transposon tagged A. citrulli mutant library, we obtained a novel pathogenicity gene designated T in previous research. In this application we aim at genetic and molecular characterization of gene T in both A. citrulli and in the distant Pseudomonas syringe pv. tomato, by gene knockout and genetic complementation assays. To further elucidate the mechanism of gene T in pathogenicity of A.citrulli, a bacterial two-hybrid assay will be employed to screen for its interacting protein(s). The identified gene(s) will be functionally analyzed by genetic and molecular approaches. The genetic and molecular dissection of gene T function in A. citrulli and P. syringe will be helpful to an increased understanding of bacterial pathogenesis and to the development of novel disease control measures.