Xanthomonas axonopodis pathovar vasculorum strain NCPPB 900 was isolated from sugarcane on Reunion island in 1960. Consistent with its belonging to fatty-acid type D, multi-locus sequence analysis confirmed that NCPPB 900 falls within the species X. axonopodis. This genome harbours sequences similar to plasmids pXCV183 from X. campestris pv. vesicatoria 85-10 and pPHB194 from Burkholderia pseudomallei. Its repertoire of predicted effectors includes homologues of XopAA, XopAD, XopAE, XopB, XopD, XopV, XopZ, XopC and XopI and transcriptional activator-like effectors and it is predicted to encode a novel phosphonate natural product also encoded by the genome of the phylogenetically distant X. vasicola pv. vasculorum. Availability of this novel genome sequence may facilitate the study of interactions between xanthomonads and sugarcane, a host-pathogen system that appears to have evolved several times independently within the genus Xanthomonas and may also provide a source of target sequences for molecular detection and diagnostics