Tropical Plant Pathology (2018) 43, 341-350

Vivian Bernal-Galeano, Juan C. Ochoa, César Trujillo, Leidy Rache, Adriana Bernal and Camilo A. López (2018)
Development of a multiplex nested PCR method for detection of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. manihotis in Cassava
Tropical Plant Pathology 43 (4), 341-350
Abstract: Cassava (Manihot esculenta), an important multipurpose crop, represents a food source for millions of people and a source of industrial raw material in tropical regions. A limitation in its production is cassava bacterial blight (CBB), a disease caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. manihotis (Xam). CBB is spread mainly by propagation of infected cuttings, therefore early pathogen detection and disease diagnosis are crucial to prevent its dispersal and the consequent negative impact on the crop. A previously reported detection method was inefficient at detecting isolates of Xam more recently collected in cassava fields in Colombia. Consequently, a new method for pathogen detection was developed using multiplex nested PCR. A set of primers was selected amongst a group designed for five housekeeping gene sequences (rpoB, gltA, ftsZ, gyrB and groEL), and for the region of the gene encoding for the C-terminal portion of TALE1_Xam, a protein involved in virulence of Xam. In this work, a multiplex nested PCR based on the set of primers RpoB and Cterm was optimized to achieve an effective detection of Xam. The developed method successfully detects the presence of Xam in cassava plants collected in infected fields.
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Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
identification/taxonomy
surveys/sampling/distribution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. manihotis	Cassava (Manihot esculenta)	Colombia