Revisiting the taxonomy of Allorhizobium vitis (i.e. Agrobacterium vitis) using genomics - emended description of All. vitis sensu stricto and description of Allorhizobium ampelinum sp. nov

Allorhizobium vitis (formerly named Agrobacterium vitis or Agrobacterium biovar 3) is the primary causative agent of crown gall disease of grapevine worldwide. Whole-genome sequence comparisons and phylogenomic analysis of various All. vitis strains clearly indicated that All. vitis is not a single species, but represents a species complex composed of at least four genomic species. Thus, we amended the description of All. vitis which now refers to a restricted group of strains within the All. vitis complex (i.e. All. vitis sensu stricto ) and proposed a description of a novel species All. ampelinum sp. nov. The type strain of All. vitis sensu stricto remains the existing type strain of All. vitis , K309T (= NCPPB 3554T =HAMBI 1817T = ATCC 49767T = CIP 105853T = ICMP 10752T = IFO 15140T = JCM 21033T = LMG 8750T = NBRC 15140T). The type strain of All. ampelinum sp. nov. is S4T (= DSM 112012T = ATCC BAA-846T). This genome-based classification was supported by differentiation of strains based on a MALDI-TOF MS analysis. We also identified gene clusters specific for All. vitis species complex, All. vitis sensu stricto and All. ampelinum , and attempted to predict their function and their role in ecological diversification of these clades, some of which were experimentally validated. Functions of All. vitis species complex-specific genes convergently indicate a role in adaptation to different stresses, including exposure to aromatic compounds. Similarly, All vitis sensu stricto -specific genes also confer the ability to degrade 4-hydroxyphenylacetate and a putative compound related to gentisic acid, while All. ampelinum -specific genes have putative functions related to polyamine metabolism and nickel assimilation. This suggests that these species have differentiated ecologies, each relying on specialized nutrient consumption or toxic compound degradation to adapt to their respective niche. Moreover, our genome-based analysis indicated that Allorhizobium and the “ R. aggregatum complex” represent separate genera of the family Rhizobiaceae . ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.