Journal
JOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 102, Issue 1, Pages 134-143Publisher
BLACKWELL PUBLISHING
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2006.03055.x
Keywords
hard-lock(s); hollow seed; opportunistic infections; selection marker; stink bugs
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Aims: To investigate the aetiology of seed and boll rot of cotton grown in South Carolina (SC). Methods and Results: Bacteria were isolated from diseased locules of cotton bolls collected in a field in SC, USA and tested for the ability to cause comparable disease symptoms in greenhouse grown cotton fruit. Spontaneously generated rifampicin-resistant (Rif(r)) mutants of the isolates were used in confirmatory pathogenicity tests. Resistance to the antibiotic was both stable and effective in differentiating between an inoculated Rifr strain, rifampicin-sensitive contaminants and/or endophytes. A series of inoculation methods was tested at various boll developmental stages and at different fruiting nodes on the plant. Field disease symptoms were reproduced by inoculating bolls at 2 weeks postanthesis with bacterial suspensions ranging from 10(3) to 10(6) CFU ml(-1). Pathogenic isolates were categorized as Pantoea agglomerans on the basis of phenotype testing, fatty acid profiling (similarity index 0 94), and 16s ribosomal DNA sequence analysis (99% nucleotide identity). Conclusions: Pantoea agglomerans isolates from field-collected immature, diseased cotton caused comparable infection symptoms in greenhouse produced cotton fruit. Significance and Impact of the Study: In 1999, significant yield losses in SC cotton resulted from a previously unobserved seed and boll rot that has since been reported in other southeastern states. This study demonstrated a role of P. agglomerans in producing opportunistic bacterial seed and boll rot of cotton.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available