bad-smell sap bacterium

Pectobacterium carotovorum is a bacterium of the family Pectobacteriaceae; it used to be a member of the genus Erwinia.

The species is a plant pathogen with a diverse host range, including many agriculturally and scientifically important plant species. It produces pectolytic enzymes that hydrolyze pectin between individual plant cells. This causes the cells to separate, a disease plant pathologists term bacterial soft rot. Specifically, it causes beet vascular necrosis and blackleg of potato and other vegetables (hence the name carotovora – "carrot-eater"), as well as slime flux on many different tree species. Currently, there are four described subspecies of P. carotovorum (carotovorum, brasiliense, odoriferum, and actinidiae).