Survival of pantoea ananatis, causal agent of maize white spot disease in crop debris

Abstract

Maize white spot, caused by the bacterium Pantoea ananatis, is one of the most detrimental diseases of maize in Brazil and has contributed to significant yield reduction. In this study, P. ananatis isolates were recovered from maize white spot lesions, healthy leaves, corn crop residues and Digitaria horizontalis. All the bacterial isolates were identified and characterized by morphological traits analysis, acid production from sorbitol and glycerol, ice nucleation activity, metabolic fingerprint similarities and molecular analysis by Polymerase Chain Reaction with species-specific primers for P. ananatis (ANAF/ANAR). Results showed that isolates recovered from maize white spot lesions were similar to those isolates collected from other sources. It suggests that corn crop residues, D. horizontalis and healthy leaf surface of the corn plant itself, could be a source of survival for P. ananatis.