Clonal population structure of Pseudomonas avellanae strains of different origin based on multilocus enzyme electrophoresis.

To assess the genetic diversity and genetic relationships of Pseudomonas avellanae, the causative agent of hazelnut decline, a total of 102 strains, obtained from central Italy (provinces of Viterbo and Rome) and northern Greece, were studied using multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE). Their allelic variation in 10 loci was determined. All loci were polymorphic and 53 electrophoretic types (ETs) were identified from the total sample. The mean genetic diversity (H) was 0.65 and this value ranged from 0.37 for the least polymorphic to 0.82 for the most polymorphic locus. The dendrogram originated from MLEE data indicated two main groups of ETs, A and B. The groups do not appear to be correlated to the geographic origin of the strains, although all the ETs from northern Greece clustered into subgroup B1. Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae and P. syringae pv. theae, included in the analysis as outgroups, clustered apart. The index of association (I(A)) for P. avellanae was 0.90. The I(A) values were always significantly different from zero for the population subsets studied and no epidemic structure was found. These results would indicate that the population structure of P. avellanae is clonal either in northern Greece or in central Italy. The recent outbreaks of the bacterium in new areas of hazelnut cultivation would explain the current clonal structure that is persisting over decades.