RAPD FINGERPRINTING XYLELLA-FASTIDIOSA PIERCES-DISEASE STRAINS ISOLATED FROM A VINEYARD IN NORTH FLORIDA

Pierce's disease (PD) strains of Xylella fastidiosa were identified by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting. Two random pr imers including OPA-03 (agtcagccac) and OPA-11 (caatcgccgt) were found to be efficient for differentiating PD strains isolated from a vineya rd in North Florida in 1996 (129 strains) and 1997 (29 strains) from n on-PD strains of X,fastidiosa (citrus variegated chlorosis, mulberry l eaf scorch, periwinkle wilt, plum leaf scald, and phony peach) and str ains from;Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria and Escherichia coli. This study shows that RAPD fingerprinting is a useful tool to supplem ent the conventional symptoms-colony morphology-slow growth identifica tion procedure routinely used to identify the PD pathogen. (C) 1998 Pu blished by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.