There is a project in Ohio State University, titled BASIS OF XANTHOMONAS TISSUE-SPECIFIC BEHAVIOR DURING PLANT PATHOGENESIS Start Date Sep 1, 2018, Project End Date Aug 31, 2021 Project Director JACOBS, J. M.

From Non Technical Summary:

The basis for why some bacteria move in the vascular tissue while others remain localized to the non-vascular spaces remains unknown. This research aims to determine the host and pathogen factors that promote tissue-specific behavior in an important group of pathogenic bacteria called Xanthomonas. This proposal aims to understand the biological basis of vascular pathogenesis in plant pathogenic bacteria.A single cell-wall degrading enzyme called CelA is shared among vascular bacteria in the Xanthomonadaceae family, but is absent in non-vascular Xanthomonas spp. This project will explore the role of a cellulase (e.g. CelA) and other factors important tissu-especific behavior in Xanthomonas species.

It seems to be an answer:

https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/46/eabc4516 Repeated gain and loss of a single gene modulates the evolution of vascular plant pathogen lifestyles BY EMILE GLUCK-THALER, AUDE CERUTTI, ALVARO L. PEREZ-QUINTERO, JULES BUTCHACAS, VERÓNICA ROMAN-REYNA, VISHNU NARAYANAN MADHAVAN, DEEPAK SHANTHARAJ, MARCUS V. MERFA, CÉLINE PESCE, ALAIN JAUNEAU, TACA VANCHEVA, JILLIAN M. LANG, CAITILYN ALLEN, VALERIE VERDIER, LIONEL GAGNEVIN, BORIS SZUREK, GREGG T. BECKHAM, LEONARDO DE LA FUENTE, HITENDRA KUMAR PATEL, RAMESH V. SONTI, CLAUDE BRAGARD, JAN E. LEACH, LAURENT D. NOËL, JASON C. SLOT, RALF KOEBNIK, JONATHAN M. JACOBS

SCIENCE ADVANCES13 NOV 2020 : EABC4516

Abstract Vascular plant pathogens travel long distances through host veins, leading to life-threatening, systemic infections. In contrast, nonvascular pathogens remain restricted to infection sites, triggering localized symptom development. The contrasting features of vascular and nonvascular diseases suggest distinct etiologies, but the basis for each remains unclear. Here, we show that the hydrolase CbsA acts as a phenotypic switch between vascular and nonvascular plant pathogenesis. cbsA was enriched in genomes of vascular phytopathogenic bacteria in the family Xanthomonadaceae and absent in most nonvascular species. CbsA expression allowed nonvascular Xanthomonas to cause vascular blight, while cbsA mutagenesis resulted in reduction of vascular or enhanced nonvascular symptom development. Phylogenetic hypothesis testing further revealed that cbsA was lost in multiple nonvascular lineages and more recently gained by some vascular subgroups, suggesting that vascular pathogenesis is ancestral. Our results overall demonstrate how the gain and loss of single loci can facilitate the evolution of complex ecological traits.