= Sphingomonas
{c}
<Sphingomonas> is a <taxonomic genus> of <bacteria>. Its <type species> is <Sphingomonas paucimobilis>; the genus name is validly published in the prokaryotic naming system. A <bacterial strain>, an individual <species> and the genus are different levels of identification.<Sphingomonas in LPSN>[Genus record, nomenclatural status and type species]{ref}
A2011 experiment made that distinction consequential. Researchers grew <Arabidopsis thaliana> with or without candidate bacterial colonists, then challenged the plants with the leaf pathogen <Pseudomonas syringae>. Many plant-derived <Sphingomonas> isolates reduced both disease symptoms and pathogen growth. Isolates obtained from air, dust or water did not necessarily protect, even at comparable bacterial densities on the plant.<Protection of Arabidopsis thaliana against leaf-pathogenic Pseudomonas syringae by Sphingomonas strains in a controlled model system by Gerd Innerebner and others>[Abstract, controlled challenge and isolate-source comparison]{ref}
The experiment distinguishes colonization from a protective function. Finding a <Sphingomonas> sequence or a high bacterial count does not by itself show disease suppression. A controlled comparison needs the particular <bacterial strain>, host and outcome. Differences in carbon-source use suggested competition as one possible mechanism, but did not exclude other explanations.<Protection of Arabidopsis thaliana against leaf-pathogenic Pseudomonas syringae by Sphingomonas strains in a controlled model system by Gerd Innerebner and others>[Abstract, metabolic profiling and mechanistic qualification]{ref}
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