Differential Transcriptome Analysis of Malus x robusta 5 after Inoculation with the Virulent Erwinia mnylovom avrRpt2EA Deletion Strain ZYRKD3-1 and the Non-Virulent Wild TypeStrain Ea1189

Malus × robusta 5 (Mr5) is a wild apple accession highly resistant to fire blight caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora. Only few strains of E. amylovora are able to overcome the resistance, including the avrRpt2EA deletion mutant ZYRKD3-1. The related wild type strain Ea1189, expressing the avrRpt2EA is not able to break resistance of Mr5. The differential transcriptome comparison of Mr5 after inoculation with these two strains gives the opportunity to analyze the host-pathogen interaction of Erwinia amylovora and Mr5 in a system differing only in one single gene: the avrRpt2EA effector gene.