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Genetic analysis of Clavibacter toxicus, the agent of annual ryegrass toxicity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

M. S. Johnston ,
S. S. Sutherland ,
C. C. Constantine  and
D. J. Hampsons
M. S. Johnston
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Studies, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150
S. S. Sutherland
Affiliation:
Agriculture Western Australia, Baron-Hay Court, South Perth, Western Australia 6151, Australia
C. C. Constantine
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Studies, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150
D. J. Hampsons*
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Studies, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150
*
* D. J. Hampson, School of Veterinary Studies, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150.
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Multilocus enzyme electrophoresis was used to examine the relatedness of 52 isolates of Clavibacter toxicus, the agent of annual ryegrass toxicity. These included 37 Western Australian (WA) field isolates sampled in 3 distinct locations over a 2-year period, and 15 isolates sampled from 6 different host plant species in 3 states in Australia over approximately 8 years. Seventeen reference strains for the related genera Curtobacterium, Rhodococcus and Arthrobacter were examined for comparison. The 69 isolates were divided into 29 electrophoretic types (ETs), separated by genetic distances of 0·06 to 0·81. The C. toxicus isolates fell into 12 ETs, 11 of which formed a tightly clustered group separated by a genetic distance of 0·23 or less. Thirty-one of the WA field isolates of C. toxicus fell into a single ET, and four into another ET. Clavibacter toxicus therefore formed a closely related group which was genetically distinct from the other plant pathogenic species, and a dominant widely disseminated strain of the species was identified in WA.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 117 , Issue 2 , October 1996 , pp. 393 - 400
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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