A genus of rod-shaped bacteria found in plants, soil, and water, some species of which cause plant diseases like fire blight.
Named in honor of Erwin F. Smith, an American plant pathologist. The suffix -ia is a common Latin ending for bacterial genus names. Smith identified many plant diseases in the early 1900s.
Erwinia bacteria can devastate apple orchards and pear trees with fire blight—scientists track these bacteria to understand how diseases spread, and controlling them without antibiotics is a major agricultural challenge that threatens food security.
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