{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,4]],"date-time":"2026-07-04T18:19:05Z","timestamp":1783189145504,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,14]],"date-time":"2025-05-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1747180800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministero delle politiche agricole alimentari e forestali\u2014Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l\u2019analisi dell\u2019economia Agraria","award":["DISR-05 0001837-04\/01\/2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DISR-05 0001837-04\/01\/2022"]}]},{"name":"EuropeanUnionCommission","award":["DISR-05 0001837-04\/01\/2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DISR-05 0001837-04\/01\/2022"]}]},{"name":"EURL-BAC-European Union Reference Laboratory for Bacteriology","award":["DISR-05 0001837-04\/01\/2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DISR-05 0001837-04\/01\/2022"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Pantoea stewartii subsp. stewartii (Pss) is a Gram-negative bacterium causing Stewart wilt, a severe disease in maize. Native to North America, it has spread globally through the maize seed trade. Resistant maize varieties and insecticides are crucial to mitigate the disease\u2019s economic impact. Pss is a quarantine pest, requiring phytosanitary certification for the seed trade in European countries. Accurate diagnostic tests, including real-time PCR, are fundamental to detect Pss and distinguish it from other bacteria, like Pantoea stewartii subsp. indologenes (Psi), a non-quarantine bacteria associated with maize seeds. Population genetics is a valuable tool for studying adaptation, speciation, population structure, diversity, and evolution in plant bacterial pathogens. In this study, the key activities of interlaboratory comparisons are reported to assess diagnostic sensitivity (DSE), diagnostic specificity (DSP) and accuracy (ACC) for different real-time PCR able to detect Pss in seeds. The results of complete sequencing of Italian bacterial isolates are presented. This study enhances our understanding of molecular methods for diagnosing and identifying pathogens in maize seeds, improving knowledge of Pss genomes to prevent their spread and trace possible entry routes from endemic to non-endemic areas.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants14101470","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,14]],"date-time":"2025-05-14T08:44:58Z","timestamp":1747212298000},"page":"1470","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Pantoea stewartii subsp. stewartii an Inter-Laboratory Comparative Study of Molecular Tests and Comparative Genome Analysis of Italian Strains"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9383-8766","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Valeria","family":"Scala","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification (CREA-DC), Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 00156 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7286-4287","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicoletta","family":"Pucci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification (CREA-DC), Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 00156 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-3582-1070","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Riccardo","family":"Fiorani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification (CREA-DC), Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 00156 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alessia","family":"L\u2019Aurora","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification (CREA-DC), Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 00156 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alessandro","family":"Polito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification (CREA-DC), Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 00156 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marco Di","family":"Marsico","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sequentia Biotech, 08005 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9058-6994","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Riccardo","family":"Aiese Cigliano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sequentia Biotech, 08005 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9713-5483","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eleonora","family":"Barra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Phytopathological Laboratory, Campania Region, 80141 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Serena","family":"Ciarroni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Phy.Dia. srl Via San Camillo de Lellis, snc (DAFNE-UNITUS), 01100 Viterbo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesca","family":"De Amicis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ERSA Regional Agency for Agricultural Development\u2014Plant Protection Service of Friuli Venezia Giulia Region\u2014Phytopathology and Biotechnology Laboratory, 33050 Pozzuolo del Friuli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Salvatore","family":"Fascella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Regional Plant Protection Service, Liguria Region, 16129 Genova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesca","family":"Gaffuri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio del Servizio Fitosanitario Regione Lombardia, V.le Raimondi 54, 22070 Vertemate con Minoprio, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andreas","family":"Gallmetzer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laimburg Research Centre, 39040 Auer, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesca","family":"Giacobbi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Phytosanitary Laboratory\u2014Plant Protection Service, Emilia-Romagna Region, via A. da Formigine n.3, 40128 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pasquale Domenico","family":"Grieco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research, Training and Advanced Service Area Plant Pathology Group Leader ALSIA\u2014Metapontum Agrobios Research Center S.S. Jonica 106\u2014Km 448,2, 75012 Metaponto, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Valeria","family":"Gualandri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fondazione Edmund Mach, Technology Transfer Centre, Unit of Laboratory of Phytopathological Diagnostics, 38098 San Michele all\u2019Adige, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giovanna","family":"Mason","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Phytosanitary Laboratory of the Phytosanitary Sector and Technical-Scientific Services of the Piedmont Region, 10144 Torino, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniela","family":"Pasqua di Bisceglie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituzione di Appartenenza: Veneto Region (IT), Plant Protection Service, 30123 Venezia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Domenico","family":"Rizzo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Phytopathological Diagnostics and Molecular Biology, Plant Protection Service of Tuscany, Via Ciliegiole 99, 51100 Pistoia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria Rosaria","family":"Silletti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro di Ricerca Sperimentazione e Formazione in Agricoltura (C.R.S.F.A.) \u201cBasile Caramia\u201d, 70010 Locorotondo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Simona","family":"Talevi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Plant Protection Service Diagnostic Laboratory\u2014AMAP Marche Region, 60027 Osimo Stazione, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marco","family":"Testa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Agris Sardegna, Agricultural Research Agency of Sardinia, 09020 Ussana, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cosimo","family":"Tocci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio Fitopatologico Ufficiale ARSAC di San Marco Argentano (Official Phytosanitary Laboratory ARSAC of San Marco Argentano), 87018 San Marco Argentano, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7761-6186","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stefania","family":"Loreti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification (CREA-DC), Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 00156 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5575","DOI":"10.1099\/ijsem.0.001485","article-title":"Genome-Based Phylogeny and Taxonomy of the \u2018Enterobacteriales\u2019: Proposal for Enterobacterales Ord. 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