The development of a molecular diagnostic Tool for the detection of xanthomonas axonopodis pv. dieffenbachiae, the causal agent of Anthurium Bacterial Blight.
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MRR-18-00180
Title
The development of a molecular diagnostic Tool for the detection of xanthomonas axonopodis pv. dieffenbachiae, the causal agent of Anthurium Bacterial Blight.
Production of Anthurium andreanum, a member of the Araceae family, is an important economic activity in many countries with tropical and sub-tropical climates. The spathe, which is the most attractive part of the plant, is sold as a flower because of its colour, shape and long-vase-life. A number of different varieties exhibit different colours, from dark red to white, green, orange and pink. The industry is worth about US$ 20 m annually and Mauritius is the third world producer. Since early 1990's, the industry had been badly hit with a serious disease of bacterial blight, caused by the pathogen, Xanthomonas axonopodis pv diffenbachiae. Hawaii was amongst those countries, which had most severely suffered from this disease. As the organism can be propagated though latently infected plants, tissue cultured plantlets do not constitute a safeguard. Hence, many countries, including Mauritius, had to impose a ban on the import of Anthurium plants. Although the disease is known to be present in Reunion island, Mauritius has not so far been affected. The main aim of this work was to develop molecular tools for the identification and characterization of the pathogen and to carry out genetic studies on strains of the organism from different geographical origins. In this report, the strategies used to do so are described and the results discussed. Specific DNA probes and primers for PCR were developed. These primers were tested in Turkey, where infected plants were available, and they were shown to positively assay for the presence of the bacterial cells with a good degree of sensitivity. DNA from a number of X axonopodis pv diffenbachiae isolates were obtained from other countries and used for testing the primers as well as for assessing the diversity of the isolates.