Bacterial wilt is a major cause of concern in many economically essential solanaceous crops present in tropical, subtropical, and some moderate areas of the world. Ralstonia solanacearum is represented as a dominant bacterial wilt-causing phytopathogen in most studies. However, there is not much information regarding bacterial wilt-causing bacterial phytopathogens around Kanpur and Fatehpur districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. Samples were collected from ooze leaking off from stem, vascular component of wilted tomato plants, and inflamed potato tuber and isolated on triphenyl tetrazolium chloride medium. 22 out of initial 57 isolates were identified as R. solanacearum by morphological, physiological, biochemical, and serological tests. All isolates showed pathogenicity in tomato seedlings and potato tuber inoculation. The characterization of pathogenic traits such as biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, siderophore and hydrogen cyanide production, potassium solubilization and hydrolytic enzymes, such as cellulase, amylase, gelatinase, and pectinase has been reported. 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid sequencing showed sequence similarity in NCBI BLAST analysis to members of Enterobacter cloaceae, Serratia marcescens, and Providencia vermicola. Hence, a larger sample study and further genome level characterization is required to understand the biodiversity of bacterial wilt-causing pathogens around Uttar Pradesh, India.
Key words: Ralstonia solanacearum, wilt, pathogenicity, tomato seedlings, potato tuber, ELISA
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