Pesticidi i Fitomedicina (Jan 2007)
First Report of Tumorigenic Agrobacterium radiobacter on Raspberry in Serbia
Abstract
During the spring of 2003, gall symptoms on the roots and crowns of young raspberry plants cv. Vilamette were observed near Valjevo. Phytopathogenic bacteria were isolated from diseased plant samples. Based on the pathogenic, morphological, differential biochemicaland physiological characteristics, the isolated strains were identified as tumorigenic Agrobacterium radiobacter (biovar 1 Agrobacterium). In order to confirm the identity of isolated strains by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers complementary to tms2 genelocated on the Ti plasmid were used. In the first PCR protocol using a tms2F1 + tms2R2 primer pair, 617 bp products specific for tumorigenic Agrobacterium strains were amplified. The second PCR protocol, using a tms2F1 + tms2B primer pair, amplified the expected 458 bp products. On the basis of multiplex PCR with primers complementary to chromosomal gene coding for 23S rRNA, the isolated strains were classified as biovar 1 Agrobacterium (A. radiobacter). This is the first report of tumorigenic A. radiobacter on raspberry in Serbia.
