Identification of Bacteria Infecting Seedlings of Mung Bean Used in Rooting Bioassays

Abstract

Seeds of `Berken' mung bean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilcz.] were surface-sterilized with NaOCl and then either aerated 24 hours before sowing (routine procedure), planted immediately after the NaOCl treatment, or treated with hot cupric acetate and antibiotics before planting. Nine- or 10-day-old seedlings were used in rooting bioassays. Up to 10% of the seedlings and 17% of the cuttings had collapsed upper stems or wilted leaves. None of the seed treatments completely eliminated the pathogen, but the combination of hot cupric acetate plus antibiotics reduced the quantity of diseased cuttings to 3.3%. A white and two yellow-pigmented (Y1 and Y2) bacteria were isolated from diseased cuttings and used in subsequent pathogenicity tests. The Y2 strain was nonpathogenic. Stems of plants inoculated with the white strain turned brown and collapsed 2 days after inoculation, whereas leaves of plants inoculated with the Y1 strain wilted after 7 days. Electron microscopy, fatty acid analysis, and standard biochemical and physiological tests were used to identify the white strain as Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae van Hall and the Y1 strain as Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens ssp. flaccumfaciens (Hedges) Collins and Jones. These results emphasize that seeds of mung bean should be checked for seedborne pathogens to avoid experimental artifacts.