Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum

Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum is a soil-borne bacterium. It is a vascular phytopathogen that infects host plants through the root system causing wilting disease that causes loss in a wide range of crops. R. pseudosolanacearum is Gram negative and was originally identified as Ralstonia solanacearum, however, in 2014 Safni et al. proposed a taxonomic revision of the Ralstonia solanacearum species complex to reclassify phylotype strains, including R. pseudosolanacearum (R. solanacearum Phylotypes I and III).

R. pseudosolanacearum has been reported in a wide variety of crops including ornamental roses (Rosa sp.), tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), sweet peppers (Capsicum annum) and eggplant (Solanum melongena). Recent studies have found significant differences in disease severity influenced by higher temperatures (28°C) indicating temperature may be a virulence factor upon host colonization. The same study also reported wound inoculation resulted in higher disease severity regardless of temperatures tested (20°C -vs- 28°C) in addition to the potential implications of latent infections.