Effect of phenol on ultra structure and plasmid DNA of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

Most phenolic substances of plant origin are toxic to microorganisms and they confer some degree of protection to plants against phytopathogens. Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, bacterial blight pathogen of rice (Oryza sativa) was treated with phenol (monohydroxy benzene) and its effects on the morphology and cytological changes of the bacterium were studied. Total lysis of cells occurred with 5 mM conc of phenol while at 2 mM conc, the cell walls became rough and cell contents started shrinking. Plasmids isolated from both treated (2 mM) and control cells did not show any marked difference under electron microscope except that they differed in their quantity and might influence pathogenicity.