Pathogenic Interactions Between Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri and Cultivars of Pummelo (Citrus grandis)

ABSTRACT The aggressiveness of strains of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri on seven Citrus species, including Citrus sinensis (navel orange), C. paradisi (grapefruit), C. unshiu (Satsuma mandarin), C. junos (Yuzu), C. aurantifolia ('Mexican' lime), C. tachibana (Tachibana), and C. grandis (pummelo: 'Otachibana', 'Banpeiyu', and 'Anseikan'), were assessed by comparing lesion expansion and growth in planta, using a prick inoculation method. The existence of two groups distinct in aggressiveness was demonstrated on the pummelo cultivars, whereas the remaining species tested were uniformly susceptible. The two groups of strains were distinct in lesion expansion and growth in planta; however, both caused canker lesions on the 'Otachibana' pummelo. The sensitivity of the bacterial strains to phages Cp1 and Cp2 was associated with differences in aggressiveness. Namely, all the strains sensitive to Cp2 but resistant to Cp1 were aggressive to 'Otachibana', whereas all the strains sensitive to Cp1 but resistant to Cp2 were weakly aggressive. When a repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction amplification was carried out by enterobacterial repetitive intergeneric consensus (ERIC) sequences (ERIC1R and ERIC2) as the primers, these two groups were also distinguishable by the presence or absence of a 1.8-kb DNA fragment among otherwise identical fragments. The 1.8-kb fragment was amplified only from the strains aggressive to C. grandis.