AUTHOR=Kałużna Monika , Prokić Andjelka , Obradović Aleksa , Weldon William A. , Stockwell Virginia O. , Pothier Joël F. 

TITLE=Specific and sensitive detection tools for Xanthomonas arboricola pv. corylina, the causal agent of bacterial blight of hazelnut, developed with comparative genomics

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1254107

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2023.1254107

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Xanthomonas arboricola</italic> pv. corylina (<italic>Xac</italic>; formerly <italic>Xanthomonas campestris</italic> pv. corylina) is the causal agent of the bacterial blight of hazelnuts, a devastating disease of trees in plant nurseries and young orchards. Currently, there are no PCR assays to distinguish <italic>Xac</italic> from all other pathovars of <italic>X</italic>. <italic>arboricola</italic>. A comparative genomics approach with publicly available genomes of <italic>Xac</italic> was used to identify unique sequences, conserved across the genomes of the pathogen. We identified a 2,440 bp genomic region that was unique to <italic>Xac</italic> and designed identification and detection systems for conventional PCR, qPCR (SYBR<sup>®</sup> Green and TaqMan™), and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). All PCR assays performed on genomic DNA isolated from eight <italic>X</italic>. <italic>arboricola</italic> pathovars and closely related bacterial species confirmed the specificity of designed primers. These new multi-platform molecular diagnostic tools may be used by plant clinics and researchers to detect and identify <italic>Xac</italic> in pure cultures and hazelnut tissues rapidly and accurately.</p>