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Isolation and characterization of the citrus canker pathogen Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri pathotype A, occurring in imported tangerine (Citrus reticulata Blanco) fruits

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Abstract

In 2015, some imported tangerine (Citrus reticulata Blanco) fruits with suspected canker lesions were observed in some local markets in Shiraz county of the Fars province in Iran. Symptomatic and asymptomatic tangerine fruits obtained in a survey of local markets were collected and analyzed. Xanthomonas-like bacterial isolates were only recovered from symptomatic tangerine fruits. Eighteen isolates were identified as Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc) based on biochemical tests and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using Xcc specific primers. The isolates were evaluated for pathogenicity on four Citrus spp., namely tangerine, sweet orange, lemon and Mexican lime. All isolates induced disease symptoms on the four Citrus spp. and could be re-isolated and identified from inoculated symptomatic plants. The pathogenicity test and a phylogenetic analysis of sequence data showed that Xcc pathotype A is the causal agent of bacterial canker in commercially imported tangerine fruits. Our results indicated that infected citrus fruits could play a relevant role as a dispersal inoculum of citrus canker into new regions such as Iran. To our knowledge, this is the first known introduction with imported fruits of Xcc pathotype A into the Fars province of Iran.

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  1. Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

    Mahsa Izadiyan & Sayed Mohsen Taghavi

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  1. Mahsa Izadiyan
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  2. Sayed Mohsen Taghavi
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Correspondence to Sayed Mohsen Taghavi.

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Izadiyan, M., Taghavi, S.M. Isolation and characterization of the citrus canker pathogen Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri pathotype A, occurring in imported tangerine (Citrus reticulata Blanco) fruits. J Plant Pathol 102, 671–679 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42161-020-00568-5

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