Scala Valeria, Pucci Nicoletta, Fiorani Riccardo, L'Aurora Alessia, Polito Alessandro, Marsico Marco Di, Aiese Cigliano Riccardo, Barra Eleonora, Ciarroni Serena, De Amicis Francesca, Fascella Salvatore, Gaffuri Francesca, Gallmetzer Andreas, Giacobbi Francesca, Grieco Pasquale Domenico, Gualandri Valeria, Mason Giovanna, Pasqua di Bisceglie Daniela, Rizzo Domenico, Silletti Maria Rosaria, Talevi Simona, Testa Marco, Tocci Cosimo, Loreti Stefania
Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification (CREA-DC), Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 00156 Rome, Italy.
Sequentia Biotech, 08005 Barcelona, Spain.
Plants (Basel). 2025 May 14;14(10):1470. doi: 10.3390/plants14101470.
subsp. (Pss) is a Gram-negative bacterium causing Stewart wilt, a severe disease in maize. Native to North America, it has spread globally through the maize seed trade. Resistant maize varieties and insecticides are crucial to mitigate the disease's economic impact. Pss is a quarantine pest, requiring phytosanitary certification for the seed trade in European countries. Accurate diagnostic tests, including real-time PCR, are fundamental to detect Pss and distinguish it from other bacteria, like subsp. (Psi), a non-quarantine bacteria associated with maize seeds. Population genetics is a valuable tool for studying adaptation, speciation, population structure, diversity, and evolution in plant bacterial pathogens. In this study, the key activities of interlaboratory comparisons are reported to assess diagnostic sensitivity (DSE), diagnostic specificity (DSP) and accuracy (ACC) for different real-time PCR able to detect Pss in seeds. The results of complete sequencing of Italian bacterial isolates are presented. This study enhances our understanding of molecular methods for diagnosing and identifying pathogens in maize seeds, improving knowledge of Pss genomes to prevent their spread and trace possible entry routes from endemic to non-endemic areas.
亚种(Pss)是一种革兰氏阴性细菌,可引发斯图尔特枯萎病,这是玉米的一种严重病害。它原产于北美,通过玉米种子贸易在全球范围内传播。抗性玉米品种和杀虫剂对于减轻该病害的经济影响至关重要。Pss是一种检疫性有害生物,在欧洲国家的种子贸易中需要植物检疫证书。准确的诊断测试,包括实时荧光定量PCR,对于检测Pss并将其与其他细菌区分开来至关重要,比如亚种(Psi),一种与玉米种子相关的非检疫性细菌。群体遗传学是研究植物细菌病原体的适应性、物种形成、群体结构、多样性和进化的宝贵工具。在本研究中,报告了实验室间比对的关键活动,以评估不同实时荧光定量PCR检测种子中Pss的诊断敏感性(DSE)、诊断特异性(DSP)和准确性(ACC)。展示了意大利细菌分离株的全基因组测序结果。本研究增进了我们对玉米种子中病原体诊断和鉴定分子方法的理解,提高了对Pss基因组的认识,以防止其传播并追踪从流行地区到非流行地区可能的传入途径。