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Published on: February 1, 2014
Detection of tabtoxin-producing strains of Pseudomonas syringae by PCR
1U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA. lydonj@ba.ars.usda.gov
Aims:
The present study describes a system based on PCR to distinguish tabtoxin-producing strains of Pseudomonas syringae from other Ps. syringae plant pathogens that produce chlorosis-inducing phytotoxins.
Methods And Results:
Thirty-two strains of Ps. syringae and related species were examined. Two sets of PCR primers were developed to amplify genes (tblA and tabA) required for tabtoxin production. Only a PCR product of 829 bp or 1020 bp was produced in PCR reactions with the tblA or tabA primer sets, respectively, and cells from tabtoxin-producing pathovars of Pseudomonas syringae. All known non-tabtoxin producing bacterial species failed to produce an amplification product with either primer set.
Conclusions:
PCR of genes required for tabtoxin production is a simple, rapid and reliable method for identifying tabtoxin-producing strains of Ps. syringae.
Significance And Impact Of The Study:
The protocol can effectively distinguish tabtoxin-producing strains of Ps. syringae from other Ps. syringae pathovars and Ps. syringae pv. tabaci strains from other tabtoxin-producing Ps. syringae pathovars.
