Identification of Xanthomonas fragariae in infected strawberry by ELISA
An indirect ELISA test has been developed in California (US) to detect Xanthomonas fragariae (EPPO A2 quarantine pest). The antiserum produced reacted positively with 34 strains of X. fragariae but not with 16 of the 17 pathovars of X. campestris nor with Agrobacterium spp., Erwinia amylovora, Pseudomonas spp., Rhodococcus fascians and non-pathogenic bacteria isolated from strawberry. With this method, it was possible to detect X. fragariae from lesions obtained on leaf disks by artificial inoculation, from lesions present on plants showing symptoms of angular leaf spot disease in the field, and even from frozen infested tissues. Though it is less sensitive than the pathogenicity tests, this indirect ELISA test can be very useful for testing large numbers of field samples because of its simplicity, speed and specificity.
Sources
Rowhani, A.; Feliciano, A.J.; Lips, T.; Gubler, W.D. (1994) Rapid identification of Xanthomonas fragariae in infected strawberry by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay.
Plant Disease, 78 (3), 248-250.