What is it about?

Thirty isolates of Pectobacterium carotovorum from soft rot-affected sugar beet plants in the Fars province of Iran were characterized phenotypically and by analysis of whole-cell protein electrophoresis patterns. The isolates were found to be heterogeneous based on the results of physiological and biochemical tests and protein profiles. The results of numerical analysis of phenotypic characteristics and protein patterns showed that only 27% of the collected isolates (phenon 4) could be identified as P. betavasculorum when compared with reference strains. Strains of the first, second, third and fifth phenon shared similar characters with those of P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, P. betavasculorum and P. carotovorum subsp. odoriferum, but were distinct from these subspecies. Inoculation of phenon 4 isolates into wounded sugar beet petioles led to black streaking, root rot and vascular necrosis. Other isolates were incapable of causing systemic symptoms in inoculated plants.

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Why is it important?

The areas under cultivation of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) in Iran during the last 4 years were 174 000 ha yielding 5 397 000 tons of root and 660 000 tons of sucrose (Sheikholeslami, 2006). One of the factors contributing to low yield is root rot.

Perspectives

whole-cell protein analysis by SDS– PAGE and comparative phenotypic tests confirmed the identity of Pb as the causal agent of bacterial vascular necrosis and sugar beet root rot in Iran. However, these techniques were not effective in differentiating other P. carotovorum subspecies associated with sugar beet root rot. Further research is being conducted to characterize these atypical strains by molecular methods.

Reza Nedaeinia
Student Research Committee, Department of medical biotechnology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

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This page is a summary of: Characterization of Iranian Pectobacterium carotovorum Strains from Sugar Beet by Phenotypic Tests and Whole-cell Proteins Profile, Journal of Phytopathology, February 2008, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0434.2007.01355.x.
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