Rapid identification of Agrobacterium species by staircase electrophoresisof low molecular weight RNA profiles

Several plant species are infected by different species of the genus Agroba cterium. One problem is that no rapid and sensitive method is available for the identification of isolates of Agrobacterium at the species level. The usefulness of LMW RNA profiles for the identification of Agrobacterium spec ies was examined. The profiles of strains belonging to the proposed species were identical to those of the type strain of each species except in two c ases. In A. radiobacter, two groups of strains with different tRNA profiles were detected and in A. rhizogenes two groups with different 5S rRNA zones were found. Nevertheless, with the LMW RNA profiles it was possible to ass ign any isolate to one of each group within these species. The results obta ined showed that all isolates studied here can be assigned to a species of Agrobacterium and hence that LMW RNA profiles offer a suitable method for t he identification of tumor-inducing bacteria.