Pectobacterium and Dickeya species causing potato blackleg and tuber soft rot

Abstract

World potato production is affected by plant pathogenic bacteria, which significantly limit crop yield and quality in recent years. Bacteria belonging to Pectobacterium and Dickeya genera, causal agents of blackleg and tuber soft rot of potato, are considered as one of the most important pathogens that affect plant production worldwide. Main source of infection are latently infected seed tubers, which transmitted over long trade distances significantly increase disease incidence. Main identification tools for Pectobacterium and Dickeya species until recently were morphological and biochemical characterization methods, followed by pathogenicity tests. Due to phylogenetic heterogeneity of the soft rot and blackleg causing bacteria, identification and differentiation to species and subspecies level became increasingly difficult. Therefore, development of efficient and reliable identification methods is of high importance. Molecular and serological methods offer accurate, reliable and cost-effective differentiation of high specificity and reproducibility. This work aimed to review Pectobacterium i Dickeya species occurring on potato, with special highlight on available molecular identification techniques.

Proizvodnja krompira u svetu značajno je ugrožena delovanjem fitopatogenih bakterija, te godišnji gubici prinosa poprimaju sve veće razmere. Među deset ekonomski najznačajnijih fitopatogenih bakterija koje smanjuju prinos i kvalitet poljoprivrednih kultura ističu se vrste rodova Pectobacterium i Dickeya - prouzrokovači crne truleži prizemnog dela stabla "crna noga" i vlažne truleži krtola krompira. Najznačajniji izvor infekcije su zaražene semenske krtole, te bakterije ovim putem lako dospevaju u nova područja. Identifikacija bakterija rodova Pectobacterium i Dickeya se do nedavno zasnivala na proučavanju morfoloških odlika bakterijskih kolonija uz upotpunjavanje testovima patogenosti i biohemijskim analizama. Zbog heterogenosti populacije patogena precizna identifikacija prouzrokovača vlažne truleži je dodatno otežana. S obzirom na potrebe za brzom i pouzdanom identifikacijom, u primenu su uvedene serološke i molekularne metode. Molekularne tehnike identifikacije, zbog svoje visoke specifičnosti, brzine izvođenja, pouzdanosti i ponovljivosti danas zauzimaju vodeće mesto u identifikaciji patogena. U radu su prikazane vrste rodova Pectobacterium i Dickeya koje se javljaju na krompiru, sa posebnim osvrtom na molekularne tehnike identifikacije.