Phenotypic, genotypic and pathogenic variation among streptomycetes implicated in common scab disease
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Updated: Oct 27, 2026

Visual and Microscopic Evaluation of Streptomyces Developmental Mutants
Published on: September 12, 2018
P A Bramwell1, P Wiener, A D Akkermans
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
Abstract:
This study examines the diversity of streptomycetes causing potato scab using phenotypic identification, 16S rRNA sequence, and pathogenicity measurements. Pathogenicity did not correlate well with taxonomic identification, nor with phylogenetic position. This result suggests that neither phenotypic nor 16S characteristics are diagnostic for scab-causing strains. Additionally, phenotypic characterizations were not fully consistent with phylogenetic relationships. This incongruency highlights the difficulties of taxonomy within the streptomycetes and affirms the need for better integration of genetic and phenotypic characters in the systematics of this group.
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