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Submitted to: National American Phytopathology Meetings
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 8/25/2001 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Bacterial wilt of alfalfa, caused by Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. insidiosus (Cmi), is found in most alfalfa-growing areas in North America. However, the bacterium has not been reported to occur in Europe, the near East, or central Asia, considered the center of origin of alfalfa. This suggests that the disease is endemic to North America. The purposes of this sstudy are to first determine if legumes indigenous to North America are hosts for the bacterium and second to determine whether the bacterium can be isolated from prairie soils. Seed collected from 17 legumes native to Minnesota were planted in pasteurized soil in the greenhouse. After 8 weeks growth, plants were removed from soil and inoculated with Cmi. Plants were repotted and will be grown for an additional 8 weeks. Stem sections from individual plants will be assayed for Cmi by plating extracts on a semi selective agar medium. A Cmi-specific PCR assay will be used to identify Cmi colonies on plates and to assay for Cmi in total DNA extracted from soil samples of inoculated plants and soil samples from remnant prairies. Results on recovery of Cmi from plants and soil will be presented. |
