Detection of Crown Gal Agent ( Agrobacterium tumefaciens) in Grapevine Propagating Material

Authors: Kemal BENLİOĞLU, Meriç ÖZAKMAN

Abstract: Polyclonal antiserum produced against Agrobacterium tumefaciens (biovar 3) reacted in immunofluorescent test with biovar 3 strains of A.tumefaciens,causal agent of crown gal, from Central Anatolia. The antiserum did not react with A.tumefaciens biovar 1 (except for 1/200 dilution), biovar 2, other plant pathogens and symbionts. Vacuum extraction procedure were applied to recover A.tumefaciens from xylem vessels of one year old dormant grape cuttings. IFAS and selective media were used to detect bacteria. A.tumefaciens (biovar 3) was recovered from six cuttings of 8 infected vines and seven of 150 apparently healthy vines in Central Anatolia. The sensitivity thershold of the vacuum extraction method and the effectiveness of the IFAS and selective media were experimentally evaluated. Roots of 1 year old grafted vines of 27 cultivars were also examined for the presence of A.tumefaciens. Six of these cultivars were contaminated with tumorigenic biovar 3 and seven of these with nontumorigenic biovar 3 or 1. Of 28 strains of A.tumefaciens isolated, 25 were identified as biovar 3, and 3 as biovar 1 according to their physiological characteristics.

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