Plant Pathology (2004) 53, 491-497

M. Scortichini, M.P. Rossi and M. Salerno (2004)
Relationship of genetic structure of Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi populations from Italian olive trees and patterns of host genetic diversity
Plant Pathology 53 (4), 491-497
Abstract: A total of 360 Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi isolates obtained from 11 Italian olive (Olea europaea) cultivars grown in different provinces were assessed with repetitive PCR using short interspersed elements of the bacterial genome as primers (ERIC, BOX and REP primer sets). The population structure of the isolates was determined by using three different hierarchical clustering algorithms: UPGMA, single-link and complete-link methods. REP primers were the most discriminatory. The various fingerprints obtained from the same cultivar and locality persisted over 2 years of knot sampling. Repetitive PCR and UPGMA analysis, using the three data sets combined, revealed 20 patterns with an overall similarity of 81%, with no grouping of the isolates. The resulting dendrogram shows a bush-like topology. Similar results were obtained with the other two clustering methods. In contrast, data obtained from the literature showed that the genetic structure of olive is characterized by bifurcated dendrograms and clear grouping of cultivars. Therefore it appears that the host plant and its pathogen did not cospeciate. The strict adaptation of the bacterium to olive would represent a case of association by colonization.
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Marco Scortichini

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Pseudomonas savastanoi	Olive (Olea europaea)	Italy