Infection, survival, and growth of clavibacter nebraskensis on crop, weed, and prairie plant species

B. T. Webster, R. D. Curland, R. R. McNally, C. A. Ishimaru, D. K. Malvick

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Clavibacter nebraskensis is the causal agent of Goss’s leaf blight and wilt, an important disease of maize in the United States and Canada. The epidemiology and ecology of this bacterial pathogen are poorly understood. Infested maize residue is often considered to be the primary source of inoculum for maize; however, the potential for many other plant species to be infected and serve as inoculum sources is unknown. The goal of this study was to determine if C. nebraskensis could infect, survive, and grow on common weed, crop, and grass species. Seedling leaves of 18 plant species that grow in maize production areas in the United States were inoculated with this pathogen in a controlled environment and in the field. Lesion development, bacterial streaming, and pathogen population size on leaves were then determined and used as criteria to evaluate host–pathogen interactions. Woolly cupgrass (Eriochloa vil-losa) and the native prairie grasses big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) and little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) developed lesions and bacterial streaming, identifying them as hosts and susceptible to infection. To our knowledge, this is the first report of these grass species being hosts of C. nebraskensis. Ten other grass species, including wheat and oats, were identified as potential sustaining hosts that maintained epiphytic or endophytic pathogen populations >106 colony forming units per leaf sample but displayed no evidence of infection. Five broadleaf species tested were nonhosts based on the three criteria. This study suggests that multiple plant species support infection and growth of C. nebraskensis and further elucidates the ecology of this pathogen and the epidemiology of Goss’s wilt.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2108-2112
Number of pages5
JournalPlant disease
Volume103
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The American Phytopathological Society.

Keywords

  • Bacterial
  • Cereals and grains
  • Epidemiology
  • Field crops
  • Pathogen
  • Prokaryotes

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