A Meta-analysis of the known Global Distribution and Host Range of theRalstoniaSpecies Complex

Abstract The Ralstonia species complex is a group of genetically diverse plant wilt pathogens. Our goal is to create a database that contains the reported global distribution and host range of Ralstonia clades (e.g. phylotypes and sequevars). In this fourth release, we have cataloged information from 197 sources that report one or more Ralstonia strains isolated from 105 geographic regions. Metadata for nearly 8,000 strains are available as a supplemental table. The aggregated data suggest that the pandemic brown rot lineage (IIB-1) is the most widely dispersed lineage, and the phylotype I and IIB-4 lineages have the broadest natural host range. Although Phylotype III is largely restricted to Africa, several studies report that these strains have been introduced into the Americas (the Caribbean and South America). Similarly, although Phylotype IV is mostly found in East and Southeast Asia, phylotype IV strains are reported to be present in Eastern Africa. Additionally, we have created an open science resource for phylogenomics of the RSSC. We associated strain metadata (host of isolation, location of isolation, and clade) with over 250 genomes in a public KBase Narrative. Our colleagues can use this narrative to identify the phylogenetic position of newly sequenced strains.