Variability within a clonal population of <i>Erwinia amylovora</i> disclosed by phenotypic analysis

Mendes, Rafael J.; Amaro, Conceição; Luz, J. P.; Tavares, Fernando; Santos, Conceição

doi:10.7717/peerj.13695

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 49 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The isolates analyzed in the current work also showed diverse EPS production and virulence. Despite E. amylovora's genome homogeneity (Mann et al, 2013), variability in the virulence and EPS production among E. amylovora strains is usually reported (Puławska and Sobiczewski, 2012;Popovićet al, 2020;Mendes et al, 2022). A link between EPS and virulence has also been established (Maes et al, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire blight rootstock infections causing apple tree death: A case study in high-density apple orchards with Erwinia amylovora strain characterization

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A devastating outcome of fire blight in apple trees is the infection of rootstock, which leads to canker development. Fire blight cankers are infected zones of dead bark on perennial branches, trunk, or rootstock that develop after fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylovora invades wood. Cankers can girdle the trunk, branches and rootstock leading to tree death and production losses, especially significant in high-density orchards. An accurate diagnosis of trunk and rootstock blight is a top challenge for apple growers because fire blight cankers can be visually misdiagnosed with cankers caused by less frequent Oomycete and fungal pathogens (e.g., Phytophthora spp., Botryosphaeria dothidea, B. obtusa, Valsa mali). In addition, detecting E. amylovora in apple rootstocks is essential because this pathogen also causes asymptomatic infections. Accurate fire blight diagnosis is necessary to inform the complete removal of infected trees from the orchard and help replanting efforts while preventing further pathogen dissemination. To determine apple tree losses caused by fire blight rootstock infections, PCR was used to detect E. amylovora in symptomatic and asymptomatic rootstocks for two years. Rootstock canker incidence and tree death were rated in selected infection foci on seven commercial apple orchards in New York. Each infection focus consisted of central rootstock-blighted tree and the nearest surrounding edge trees showing no rootstock blight. E. amylovora strains collected from these seven orchards and other orchards in New York were characterized. In the first year, most of the orchards showed E. amylovora detection rates of 10.7 – 45.3% in asymptomatic rootstocks on the edge trees immediately surrounding visibly infected i.e. rootstock-blighted central trees. One year later, 20.8 – 56.3% cankered rootstocks were detected on the edge trees and from zero to 35.4% dead edge trees were recorded. However, the PCR from sampled edge rootstocks one year later showed no pathogen detections. E. amylovora rootstock strains showed slight variability in enzymatic activity, copper sensitivity, virulence, and exopolysaccharide production. These results elucidate the role and importance of rootstock infections for apple tree survival, the presence of latent fire blight infections, and the valuable utility of molecular detection methods to assist apple tree removal after epidemics.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire blight rootstock infections causing apple tree death: A case study in high-density apple orchards with Erwinia amylovora strain characterization

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Genetic characterization of historic Norwegian Erwinia amylovora isolates by SSR-genotyping

Brurberg,

Elameen,

Sletten

et al. 2024

J Plant Pathol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Erwinia amylovora, the causative agent of fire blight of pome fruits and other rosaceous plants belongs to the group of regulated quarantine pests. The aim of this work was to characterize the populations of E. amylovora in Norway and their geographical distribution. A total of 238 E. amylovora isolates recovered from symptomatic host plants in Norway between 1986 and 2004 were genotyped by means of a short sequence repeat (SSR) marker (ATTACAGA) on plasmid pEa29. The SSR region was amplified and amplicon size determined using fluorescent labelling and rapid, automated capillary gel electrophoresis. All isolates contained the pEa29 plasmid harbouring the investigated marker. In total, ten genotypes were identified, of which two were detected only once. The number of repeats varied from 3 to 13, with 43% of the isolates containing five repeats. Of 17 isolates collected between 1986 and 1991, all but one contained five repeats, whereas more variation was observed in isolates from the period 2000 to 2004. Most of the isolates (80%) originated from Cotoneaster bullatus, hence no relationship between genotype of the isolate and host species that it was isolated from could be detected. This historic data suggests multiple introductions of E. amylovora to Norway.

show abstract

Variability within a clonal population of Erwinia amylovora disclosed by phenotypic analysis

Cited by 2 publications

References 49 publications

Fire blight rootstock infections causing apple tree death: A case study in high-density apple orchards with Erwinia amylovora strain characterization

Fire blight rootstock infections causing apple tree death: A case study in high-density apple orchards with Erwinia amylovora strain characterization

Genetic characterization of historic Norwegian Erwinia amylovora isolates by SSR-genotyping

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About