New Disease Reports
New Disease Reports (2016) 34, 17. [http://dx.doi.org/10.5197/j.2044-0588.2016.034.017]
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First report of potato blackleg and soft rot caused by Pectobacterium wasabiae in Turkey

M. Ozturk 1*, H.M. Aksoy 1, S. Ozturk 1, M. Potrykus 2 and E. Lojkowska 2

*muratzm66@gmail.com

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Received: 01 Aug 2016; Published: 11 Oct 2016

Keywords: bacterial plant disease, Erwinia, Enterobacteria, recA gene

In 2015, blackleg symptoms were observed in potato (Solanum tuberosum) cvs. Agria, Elfe, Granola and Jelly in Yozgat province (Sorgun town) in the Central Anatolian Region of Turkey.  Disease incidence varied from 5-20%. Seventeen infected stem and tuber samples each from nine commercial potato fields were collected, homogenised and plated on nutrient agar medium. After 24 h incubation at 28°C bacteria were transferred to Luria broth agar or crystal violet pectate medium (CVP) plates and incubated for 24 h at 28°C. Identification of bacteria forming cavities on CVP medium and capable of causing potato tuber maceration in whole tuber assay (Potrykus et al., 2016) was accomplished with Y1/Y2 primers specific for Pectobacterium (Darasse et al., 1994), Y45/Y46 primers specific for P. atrosepticum (Frechon et al., 1998), and EXPCCF/R primers designed for both P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum and P. wasabiae (Kang et al., 2003). Six strains which yielded positive results with EXPCCF/R primers were further tested with PhF/R primers (De Boer et al., 2012) for the identification of P. wasabiae; two of these strains isolated from tubers (cv. Jelly) yielded an amplicon characteristic for P. wasabiae. BLAST analysis of the recA gene sequence from one of these strains (YS18Y5; GenBank Accession No. KX548226) showed 100% identity to the sequence of recA of P. wasabiae strain SCC3193. Phylogenetic analysis based on recA gene sequences (Waleron et al., 2013) available in GenBank was performed by the maximum likelihood method, and served as further confirmation that strain YS18Y5 belongs to P. wasabiae (Fig. 1).

Strain YS18Y5 is a motile, oxidase-negative, facultative anaerobe unable to grow on 5% NaCl (aq., w/v), capable of utilising lactose, D-trehalose, D-cellobiose, unable to use maltose and D-sorbitol as carbon sources and unable to grow at 37°C. The tuber maceration test indicated that strain YS18Y5 (applied as a suspension of 5 on the McFarland scale) is able to cause soft rot symptoms on potato tuber tissue using a whole tuber assay (Fig. 2). To the best of our knowledge this represents the first report on the occurrence of P. wasabiae in Turkey.  

Figure1+
Figure 1: The phylogenetic analysis based on recA gene sequences performed by maximum likelihood method. Bootstrap values are indicated at branch points based on 1000 replications. Accession numbers of reference strains in Genbank are in parentheses. Bootstrap values <50% were removed. Dickeya solani IPO3336 was used as an outgroup.
Figure 1: The phylogenetic analysis based on recA gene sequences performed by maximum likelihood method. Bootstrap values are indicated at branch points based on 1000 replications. Accession numbers of reference strains in Genbank are in parentheses. Bootstrap values <50% were removed. Dickeya solani IPO3336 was used as an outgroup.
Figure2+
Figure 2: Ability of strain YS18Y5 to cause rotting in potato tubers of cv. Denar after 72 h incubation at 28°C in a humid box.
Figure 2: Ability of strain YS18Y5 to cause rotting in potato tubers of cv. Denar after 72 h incubation at 28°C in a humid box.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by project grant from OMU-PYO. ZRT. 1901.15.011. and the National Science Centre, Poland UMO-2014/14/M/NZ8/00501. Thanks to the TUBITAK BIDEB 2211-D Domestic Doctoral Fellowship Program.

References

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  2. De Boer SH, Li X, Ward LJ, 2012. Pectobacterium spp. associated with bacterial stem rot syndrome of potato in Canada. Phytopathology 102, 937-947. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-04-12-0083-R]
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  6. Waleron M, Waleron K, Lojkowska E, 2013. Occurrence of Pectobacterium wasabiae in potato field samples. European Journal of Plant Pathology 137, 149-158. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10658-013-0227-2]
To cite this report: Ozturk M, Aksoy HM, Ozturk S, Potrykus M, Lojkowska E, 2016. First report of potato blackleg and soft rot caused by Pectobacterium wasabiae in Turkey. New Disease Reports 34, 17. [http://dx.doi.org/10.5197/j.2044-0588.2016.034.017]

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